Honor Amongst Thieves part 2
by Kalta79
Summary: Four years after part one, the triplets are doing good, but Reno isn't


**Chapter 12 The Lady In Black**

Alicia patiently brushed Ivy's red hair. It was hard to control sometimes, and it was easiest to just put it in braids in the morning so it wouldn't get so tangled. Alicia smiled, thinking back over the last four years. Jonathan may have been suspicious, but the babies soon won him over, especially when they couldn't find any reports of lost or stolen triplets.

"Are you done yet, Gamma?" Ivy asked.

"Not yet, dear." Alicia finished brushing Ivy's hair and started braiding it. "You're in a hurry this morning, aren't you?"

"The lady in black said we could play at her house today." Ivy explained.

Alicia was startled. The 'lady in black' was a mysterious woman who lived up on a hill behind them. She had shown up a few years ago, no one was sure of the exact date she had first appeared, but they definitely know it was after the reactor blew. Some say she wore the black dress and veil because her husband and son died in the explosion, some say it was because she had been horribly disfigured then. Whatever the reason, no one had seen her face, and she never spoke. She would go into stores with a typewritten list of what she wanted and pay for it to be delivered to her house. Alicia had never of the woman being friendly to anyone. Not necessarily unfriendly either, but the only ones who ever came to her house were deliverymen.

"She actually talked to you?" Alicia questioned her.

"Well, I'm not supposed to tell. She had a note that she gave to Ian, but we had to tell her we can't read good enough yet, so she told us. She makes good cookies." Ivy explained.

"Better than my cookies?" Alicia asked.

"Oh, nobody makes better cookies than you, Gamma!" Ivy exclaimed.

"Alright, and your braids are done, you go eat your breakfast before you go play, okay sweetie?"

"Yes, Gamma." Ivy said as she got down off the chair and gave Alicia a hug before heading off to the kitchen.

Alicia put the hairbrush back on Ivy's dressing table. The two girls shared a room, with two of everything for them. Half of it was paid for by the money that was left with them. Alicia looked around the room to see if there were any toys to pick up. Lily was usually very good about keeping her side of the room nice and tidy, but Ivy had a short attention span and tended to forget neatness. Except when it came to her hair. She was content to sit at her dressing table and let Alicia brush and braid her hair, like a little princess, while she would ramble on about anything that caught her fancy. Lily usually brushed her own hair, but on special occasions Lily would let Alicia fix it up. The older Lily got, the more she resembled her mother. Ivy had some of her mother's features, but not as much as Lily. Ian had the same brown hair Lily did, and he and Ivy both had aquamarine eyes. They were all different in appearance overall, but there was a common thread amongst them, even if neither Jonathan nor Alicia could figure it out.

Alicia walked downstairs to the kitchen and stood in the doorway, watching Little Miss Chatterbox talk to Jonathan about butterflies, kittens, climbing trees, and trying to keep from spilling breakfast on her new dress. When Ivy was done with her breakfast, she wiped her mouth off with her hand and kissed Jonathan on the cheek before starting to head out the door.

"Ivy…is that where your empty plate goes?" Alicia walked into the room and gestured at Ivy's place at the table.

"Oops…sorry, Gamma." Ivy walked back over to the table and picked up her plate and silverware and took them to the sink, using the stepstool put there for them.

"And wash your hands too." Alicia reminded her.

"Yes, Gamma." Ivy complied, drying her hands on the dish towel before hurrying out the door.

Alicia shook her head as she sat down next to Jonathan. "Why didn't you tell her to put her dishes away?"

"She never gave me a chance to say anything. You know how she is." Jonathan replied.

Alicia sighed. "Yes." Then she smiled. "But I wouldn't have it any other way. It was too…quiet…before they got here."

Jonathan nodded. It was good to have life in the house again. And they were growing so fast, it seemed like just yesterday they were all in diapers. Once they got big enough to have their own beds, they put Ian in Zack's old room, which was hard for them both to do. Lily and Ivy got the biggest of the spare bedrooms. When they had started talking, Ivy quickly became the most vocal. Lily and Ian talked only when they had something to say, but Ivy seemed to either be enamored by the sound of her own voice or unable to tolerate silence.

Occasionally there would be an envelope with some gil in it in their mailbox, but they never found who was behind it. It was always typewritten **_For the children_** on the envelope. It made Jonathan and Alicia both afraid that maybe one of the parents was still alive and would try and take them away one day.

* * *

Ivy ran up to the path leading to the house of the lady in the black. Lily and Ian were already there, waiting for her.

"You're late." Ian chided her.

"Gamma had to fix my hair so it's prettier than yours." Ivy retorted.

"Can we go now? We promised Gamma we'd be back by lunch." Lily said.

"Okay, let's go." Ivy started to run up the path, leaving Ian and Lily to follow her.

When they reached the house, the lady in black opened the door and gestured for them to come in. There was a plate of cookies on the table, and three glasses of milk. The triplets attacked it all, remembering to thank her. After they were seated, the lady in black spoke in a raspy voice.

"You said when you were here last that you had two mommies. What did you mean by that? You live with your grandparents, don't you?" she asked them.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" The triplets were suddenly nervous.

"I promise not to." The lady in black agreed.

"When we held hands to play a game, one of our mommies started talking to us. Well, she said she wasn't really our mommy, but it's okay to call her that, she said a lot of people do. Our real mommy, we can't hear her so well, so the other mommy talks to her for us, and tells us what she says. And they both said that if anyone found out, we'd get taken away from Gamma and Granpa, and that would hurt them. The other mommy is glad we're with them and wants us to stay there." Ian explained.

"I see. Well, I won't let anyone take you away from them, so you don't have to worry about that." The lady in black reassured them. "Who is your real mommy?"

"We don't know. Gamma and Granpa have a picture of her, but they say they don't know who she is." Lily answered.

"A picture? Could you bring it to me?" The lady in black asked.

"It's framed in the living room. They'd notice it was gone." Ivy stated.

"Oh, I'd take a picture of it myself and then you could bring it right back."

"I'll go do it." Lily said, and got up. Ian went with her to play lookout, while Ivy stayed behind to finish off her milk.

"What kinds of things does your other mommy tell you? Does she ever tell you about your daddy?" The lady in black asked Ivy.

Ivy frowned. "She said she can't talk to him, and our real mommy told her that's because we don't have a daddy."

"Everyone has a daddy, Ivy."

"That's what she told us. And our other mommy said that if we did have a daddy, he'd take us away from Gamma and Granpa too." Ivy pouted.

"I see. Well, I don't want you taken away from them either, so I won't tell anyone." The lady in black looked out the window. "Here comes your brother and sister with the picture." The lady in black grabbed her cellphone and met them on the porch. She took a picture of their mother with it, then gestured for them to take it back home with them.

As the triplets left, she went back inside to clean off the table. Once that was done, she looked at the picture of their mother. It was hard to say, but looking at the background, it was a tropical place. She almost had all the pieces of the puzzle, and she wasn't surprised at the picture forming. Shin-Ra was still meddling. She had hoped she was interpreting Ivy's remarks correctly, and that Reno was still alive. Of course, if he was, why wasn't he taking care of them? Despite his obvious character flaws, she really couldn't see him abandoning his own children. Something must have happened, and she needed to know what it was. Zack's parents were so happy with the triplets, she didn't want anything to spoil that for them. Tomorrow she'd start searching for any trace of their mother.

* * *

Rude sat down next to Reno at the bar, where Reno had saved him a seat. "Hey partner, you could have waited for me, you know." Rude nodded towards Reno's half-empty glass.

"Well, get a drink and chug it down so we'll be even." Reno replied.

"What's good here?" Rude asked.

"I'm thinking that blonde in the corner…oh you mean to drink?" Reno lifted his glass up to get the bartender's attention. "Bartender, I need a refill, and my partner here needs two glasses of the same to catch up with me."

Rude managed a smile as he noticed Reno's hand trembling slightly as he lifted the glass. The last four years hadn't been easy. He was worried how Reno would react to the doctors' verdict that he could never pilot a helicopter again, due to the resulting nerve damage and vision problems leftover from that day in Mideel.

Rude had recognized the dead girl, but he was surprised by Reno's reaction. He never thought Reno would be serious about any of his 'conquests', but he never forgot the expression of Reno's face when Rude found him holding her body. Nor did he forget the rage that Reno exhibited afterwards, going after the squad leader like that, ranting about avenging his honor.

When Rude first saw Reno after he was released from the hospital two months later, he was shocked that Reno had cut off his ponytail. And he never let it grow back either. Rude had figured out over the ensuing years that Reno was trying to pretend a chunk of his life never happened, from the time he grew the ponytail until Mideel. He still acted like the old playboy Reno, unless someone mentioned scotch, orchids, or honor to him, then he would fly into a rage and end up drinking himself into unconsciousness. Rude knew him well enough to recognize that horribly aged/haggard look when he woke up after one of those episodes was not totally hangover-related. He wondered, not for the first time, how long Reno could keep up the façade of everything being 'business as usual'.

* * *

Alicia was setting the table for lunch when she heard the triplets come back inside. She heard them doing something in the living room, then they came into the kitchen.

"Wash your hands before you sit down." Alicia told them.

They all complied and took their seats at the table, waiting for Alicia to serve up the food. Once she had, she sat down at her place, and looked at them. "What were you doing in the living room?"

Lily and Ian were uncomfortably silent, but Ivy piped up with the answer. "We were looking at Mommy's picture."

"That's all?" Alicia prodded.

"Yes, Gamma." Ivy replied.

"Alright then. Did you have fun playing at the lady in black's house?"

"Yes, Gamma. She had really good cookies!" Ian stated.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Ian." Alicia reminded him. "At least I can tell you didn't ruin your appetites."

"Where's Granpa?" Lily asked.

"He went to check the mail." Alicia replied.

Jonathan was at the mailbox when the mailman arrived with a couple bills and some catalogs for school supplies.

"Guess you're gonna have some peace and quiet again real soon." The mailman remarked.

"What do you mean?" Jonathan inquired.

"That lady behind you, the request just came in, she wants all her mail held for a month starting tomorrow." The mailman pointed to the lady in black's house.

"Oh. Well, we won't have any peace and quiet from that, we've got three kids. Have a good day." Jonathan said as he walked back up to the house, putting the mail on his desk before going into the kitchen where everyone was just finishing up their lunch.

"Is there any left for me?" Jonathan asked.

Alicia waved at a plate on the counter. "Anything interesting in the mail?"

"Just people wanting money from us. Oh and the mailman said our neighbor is going away for a month starting tomorrow." Jonathan answered, pointing in the direction of the lady in black's house.

The children paused and looked at him. "She's going away?" They asked simultaneously.

"Well, it looks like you'll only have to have my cookies for a while." Alicia said.

"Oh, we like your cookies best, Gamma, it's just that she said…" Lily stopped mid-sentence and looked down at her plate.

"What did she say?" Jonathan asked.

"She said that she won't let anyone take us from you." Ivy answered.

"I asked your sister, not you, Ivy. Is that what she said, Lily?" Jonathan asked again.

"Yes, Granpa." Lily responded.

"Okay, you may all go play after you put your dishes in the sink and wash your hands." Alicia said tightly.

After they had run out the door, she turned to Jonathan. "Why would that woman say she wouldn't let anyone take the children from us? What does she know? Are we going to lose them?" Alicia's voice trembled slightly with panic.

"I don't know. But if she does know something, we'll find out in a month. We are their legal guardians now, no one contested the adoption." Jonathan reminded her, patting her hand in reassurance, ignoring the chill he felt himself at the thought of losing them. "In the meantime, we have to pick out their supplies for when they start school in the fall. Two catalogs came in the mail today."

* * *

 **Chapter 13 Buried Secrets**

Elena listened with growing unease to Rufus' order. When he paused and looked at her, she found her voice.

"Is…is that wise, sir?" Elena asked.

"Are you refusing to follow an order, Elena?" Rufus responded.

"Oh, no sir!" Elena exclaimed. "I just think…"

"Then you can leave at once." Rufus waved his hand, dismissing her.

Elena stood there for a moment, then pivoted on her heel and left his office, looking for Reno. She found him staring out the window in the employee lounge. "Come on, Reno, we've got a new assignment."

"We?" Reno asked in surprise.

"Yeah, just you and me this time. Orders came down from the very top. Let's go."

* * *

Rufus turned to Tseng. "Do you think this will get through to him?"

"The WRO says that Reno keeps refusing their offers of using their technology to repair him. I think it's because he wants to punish himself for not saving her. And his avoidance of the past needs to be dealt with. He'll need to face it head on, and he'll either properly bury it and move on, or bury himself with it. Either way, we'll know where he stands." Tseng answered.

* * *

She packed her suitcase again. Costa del Sol had been a dead end, as had all the other spots she had visited, looking for the identity of the triplets' mother. The only place left for her to try was Mideel. The plane was leaving in two hours, and she had to hurry up and get there in time.

Reno looked briefly at the pilot's seat before getting in the passenger section of the helicopter with Elena.

"Where are we going this time?" Reno asked.

"You'll find out when we get there." Elena appeared uncomfortable as she answered, but Reno assumed she was just embarrassed remembering that the last time they were in a helicopter together, she had kissed him.

Reno looked out the window then, clamping down on any thoughts that might remind him of her. It had become automatic during the last four years. He knew the pilot was competent, but it was still hard for him not to be the one in the pilot's seat. He looked down at his arm. It was fine right now, but the nerves could act up at any time, usually at the worst moment possible. He was surprised Rufus and Tseng hadn't fired him yet.

Eventually he recognized the landscape and wasn't happy about it. "Why are we going back here?" Reno demanded of Elena.

"There's something you need to see, we just found out about it." Elena replied, not looking at him.

* * *

The helicopter landed while she was waiting for a taxi after getting her luggage, and she was surprised. _The Turks were here too? Could they be after her_? She hurriedly went back inside the airport and put her luggage in a locker. Then she went back outside and watched them get into a waiting vehicle. It was the blonde and Reno. She was stunned by the change in him. If not for the hair, she wouldn't have recognized him. Even that wasn't so easy, since his ponytail was gone. That might explain why he gave the triplets up, something had happened to him. She followed them, keeping a safe distance.

The car stopped in front of a wooded path. Elena prodded Reno. "We get out here, we have to walk the rest of the way on foot."

Reno sat in the car for a few moments then got out and reluctantly followed Elena. The path winded around until they came to a hill overlooking the ocean. There was a small marker at the end of the path, and Elena stopped there. As Reno approached, he noticed that the marker looked like a tombstone.

"Why are we here? Is this a grave?" Reno asked.

Elena cleared her throat, looking down at the ground. "Yes. The WRO, doing cleanup in Mideel, got information on all the victims to have an accurate record of what happened. The reason Kunnia was in the hospital is that after she moved here, she found out she was pregnant. It was going well until she went into premature labor and lost the babies. This is their grave. Kunnia had a mental breakdown and had to be institutionalized. So it wasn't your fault, Reno, she was half-dead already. I'll be in the car." Elena hurried away.

* * *

She listened with a mixture of sadness and anger. Reno was the father, but he never knew about them. And now she knew the name of the triplets' mother. But Reno…he was being lied to in such a cruel fashion. At least that blonde didn't seem to like doing it. If Reno really cared about the mother, didn't he deserve to know the babies survived? But she couldn't let them be taken from Zack's parents…and why was it so important for the triplets to remain hidden? There were still unanswered questions, and she couldn't make a decision until she knew more about their mother. At least getting answers should be easier, now that she had a name to go on.

* * *

 **Chapter 14 Consolation Prize**

The sunlight shining in her eyes woke Elena up. She went to turn over and get away from the sun for a few more minutes, and froze when she touched an arm. Last night's events flooded back to her and she shot out of bed. _Reno! She had sex with Reno!_ She noticed he was still asleep, so she quietly gathered her clothes and went back to her hotel room. After putting her clothes stretched out over the back of a chair to try and get the wrinkles out, she hopped in the shower.

Elena cleaned herself as good as she could with the hotel soap and shampoo, and then crawled into her own bed. She hated going to bed with wet hair, but sometimes it couldn't be helped, just like last night couldn't have been helped. She didn't mean for it to happen, after she got him back to his hotel room, she was going to leave him there. But he was in such a state that her trying to offer comfort as a friend got out of hand. She did feel better for having done some penance, since she was partly responsible for his downward spiral. Elena fell back asleep on that thought.

Reno woke up to housekeeping knocking on the door. He remembered to get half-dressed before he answered the door and told them to come back later. Then he opened the adjoining door to Elena's room and upon seeing she was still asleep, he closed the door.

He wondered if he should even bring up last night to her when she woke up. That reminded him of her revelations yesterday afternoon. _Kunnia had been pregnant! Would she have told him if he hadn't screwed things up? Would she have ever forgiven him_? Of course he had never given her any way to contact him, so she never could have gotten in touch with him even if she wanted to. That was just one of the many mistakes he had committed towards her. Despite what Elena said, it was still his fault. If she hadn't been pregnant, she wouldn't have been institutionalized when she miscarried. Then she wouldn't have been a sitting duck for Deepground and they could have rescued her with the other Mideel villagers. He knew he had blood on his hands, but he never thought hers would be included, as well as their babies. Maybe he should let the WRO give him prosthetics after all. At least he'd have clean hands.

Elena got up and fixed her tangled hair before getting dressed and knocking on the adjoining door. There was no answer, so she opened the door cautiously, and found Reno's room empty. She headed downstairs and spotted Reno eating breakfast in the hotel lounge/diner. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and grabbed a croissant and a bagel before sitting down at his table. She wasn't going to mention last night unless he did.

Reno looked up from his Denver omelet and bacon as Elena sat down. He noticed she was concentrating intently on buttering her croissant and spreading cream cheese on her bagel. He was trying to think of something to say to her that didn't sound stupid.

"Elena…" he started to say.

"Are you ready to leave after breakfast?" Elena interrupted him.

"Uh, yeah." Reno replied. "About last night…"

"Sometimes people just do things only because it seemed right at the time. It won't happen again." Elena said between bites of her croissant and bagel, still not looking at him. She knew why he did it, he needed consolation. She fervently hoped he never found out why she did it. At least not all his skills were job-related. Elena wondered if he remembered that he had called her Kunnia throughout the night.

Reno looked at her strangely before continuing his breakfast. Once they were done, they paid with the company card before heading to the airport. Reno offered Elena a hand into the helicopter, but she refused it, using the handholds instead. This not being the typical mission, they were using the executive helicopter, which had the passenger compartment designed like a hotel suite, the seating section giving the only hint of its mobile nature.

The flight was smooth at first, but they had to pass through a storm, and things got a little bumpy. Elena hadn't bothered to strap herself in, and one moment she was in her seat, the next she was in Reno's lap. He almost didn't stop himself in time about making a comment about her constantly throwing herself at him. The more she tried to extricate herself, the more she got tangled up with him, despite his attempts to help.

"Elena, stop for a minute. Lemme undo the harness, that should help." Reno did just that, only they hit more turbulence as soon as he did, and they both ended up on the carpeted floor.

Elena looked up at him, and when she started to move to get him off her, something went through both of them. The next thing she knew, his mouth was on hers, his hands inside her suit, and she was responding just as fervently.

The pilot's announcement that the storm was over and they would be landing in a few minutes went ignored by the passengers, until Reno felt the helicopter land.

"Elena, it's time to go." he told her.

"Huh?" she replied sleepily.

"We've landed. Unless you want them to find us like this, we better get outta here."

"Oh!" Elena let go of him and hurriedly made herself presentable, while Reno did the same.

Reno got off first, then offered a hand to Elena to help her down. She paused for a moment before accepting his help.

* * *

Tseng and Rufus were watching them land on the security monitors, both noticing their clothes being slightly disheveled, which was typical of Reno, but not of Elena. They also noticed her blush when she took his hand, and the way Reno watched after her when she walked ahead of him towards the building.

"Well it looks like the trip did Reno some good as we had planned." Rufus said.

"Yes, sir." Tseng said through clenched teeth. _His Elena with Reno? How could they_?

Elena took a deep breath before knocking on Rufus' door.

"Enter." came the command.

She opened the door and walked in, standing before his desk.

"Did Reno accept what you told him?" Rufus asked.

"I believe he did. His behavior indicated severe grief and stress when I told him." Elena responded.

"Do you have anything else to report about his behavior?" Tseng interrupted.

"Sir?" Elena asked.

Rufus looked sharply at Tseng before turning back to Elena. "I believe what he means is do you think the trip helped him move on?"

"I don't know if he will ever totally recover from it, but I think he is willing to not let it control his life so much." she answered.

"You didn't give him any _false_ hope, did you, Elena?" Tseng interrupted again.

Elena stiffened at the undertones to his question. _How did he know_? "I did what was necessary to atone for past misdeeds. That's what we're supposed to be about now, isn't it?" She stared hard at Tseng before turning and leaving.

Rufus swiveled his chair to face Tseng. "Do I need to remind you what sitting in this chair means?"

"My apologies, sir." Tseng bowed his head, acknowledging the rebuke as he rolled his eyes up to look at the doorway Elena had just stormed through.

* * *

 **Chapter 15 School Days**

The triplets woke up early, before Jonathan and Alicia, excited about starting school. Lily and Ivy snuck into Ian's room, where he was waiting for them.

"We better hurry up and do it before they wake up." Lily said.

Ian and Ivy nodded and they joined hands and concentrated. Eventually they felt the presence of their other mommy in their minds.

"We're starting school today! Tell Mommy!" Ivy exclaimed.

"Ssssshhhhh!" Ian and Lily whispered fiercely at her. "Talk in your head, we don't wanna wake Gamma and Granpa up!"

"Sorry." Ivy pouted.

They felt their other mommy's amusement at Ivy's exuberance. _Your real mommy is happy you are going to school, and she wants you to stay out of trouble_.

 _Can you hear our daddy yet_? Lily and Ian asked.

 _No_. Her voice was sad. _Now that you're going to school, you'll start learning, and when you understand enough, I'll be able to tell you why your real mommy won't talk about him. Oh, they're waking up. Be good, children_. She faded from their minds.

They let go of each other's hands. "We should start getting dressed now." Lily said. "That way we can start school sooner."

Ian and Ivy nodded, and then Lily and Ivy went back to their room and started putting on the clothes that Alicia had laid out for them the night before. Ivy was so happy with the puffed sleeves of her ivory dress. Lily had a white and lavendar striped dress, and they both had white Mary Jane shoes. After they were dressed, they got their backpacks filled with the supplies on the list the school had sent after the enrollment process was completed.

Jonathan found the two girls fully dressed sitting on their beds, when Alicia sent him to wake them up while she made breakfast.

"Is it time to go yet?" Ivy shot up when he walked through the door.

"Not yet." Jonathan smiled at her exuberance. "Go downstairs and have breakfast first." He told them as he went to Ian's door, and found him fully dressed as well, in his new sweater and pants . "Go downstairs with your sisters for breakfast." Jonathan smiled.

In the kitchen, Alicia was glad Ivy was eating in a hurry to get to school faster instead of talking, because her prattle about school, amusing though it was, pained Alicia some, having to start letting them go. They were worried about what the lady in black was up to, but when she got back to her house a month ago, she had given them a letter reassuring them that she just wanted everyone to be happy, and that the triplets were theirs. She and Jonathan were still suspicious, but were able to ignore it most of the time.

* * *

Jonathan waited at the bus stop for the triplets. Alicia was home making a special afternoon treat for their first day at school. He saw the school bus coming down the road, and made sure he was far enough back to not be in its way. When it pulled to a stop, he walked closer to it, waiting for the triplets to come out. They did, but they didn't seem as excited as he expected. When the bus pulled away, he started walking them back to the house.

Once the treats had been doled out in the kitchen, he and Alicia looked at each other, then at the triplets.

"How was your first day of school?" Alicia asked.

"They're mean!" Ivy exclaimed.

"Mean? How?" Jonathan inquired.

"We don't have a daddy." Lily said. "Everyone else there did. They said it's cause he didn't want us."

"Who said that?" Alicia started getting angry.

"The other kids." Ian answered. "They said that's why we live with you, no one else wanted us."

"Well, that's not true. When you learn to read, you can read the note your mother left with you, she says that you were orphans and she wanted you to know that she loved you very much. And we hope you like being with us." Jonathan heard a noise coming from the kitchen island and looked up to see Alicia using the cleaver viciously to chop up food for the special dinner.

"Did she say our daddy loved us too?" Ivy asked hopefully.

"Well, no, but she said he died first, so I think he didn't know about you." Jonathan truthfully answered. "I'm sure if he had known about you, he would have loved you as much as she did."

The triplets were only slightly reassured, so Jonathan tried another tactic. "Did your teachers give you any homework?"

"Why would she give us any homework?" Ivy asked. "Gamma does all the homework."

* * *

 **Chapter 16 Playing Around**

Elena was in the employee lounge, getting some coffee. They had returned from Mideel a week ago, and Reno kept trying to get her over to his place. She had been putting him off, trying to decide what to do. She did want to be with him again, and she could understand why Kunnia had put up with him for so long. But ever since they got back, Tseng had been rather overbearing, going so far as to re-initiate the no fraternization rule that hadn't been in place since the Turk numbers had dwindled to just the four of them, making the rule a moot point.

"Boo! A voice said from directly behind her.

Elena had been so lost in thought, she hadn't noticed that Reno had snuck up on her. She turned around too quickly and the hot coffee splashed onto her shirt. She made a small exclamation and dropped her mug, while Reno grabbed some paper towels and wet them with cold water, dabbing her shirt.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" Elena exclaimed. "I'm fine, I can fix it myself."

Elena went to grab the paper towels from him, but as soon as she touched his hand, she became all too aware of his proximity. She looked up at him, and the next thing she knew, he was lifting her up onto the counter while she was kissing him. Elena had been annoyed when the dress code for the Turks had been altered due to their less 'active' roles, but she was glad to be in a skirt now, it made it easier for them. She undid his pants as fast as she could, while Reno pushed her skirt up to remove her panties.

Tseng was walking down the hallway when he heard strange noises coming from the employee lounge. He opened the door slightly to peer in, and could barely contain his anger. Reno and Elena _again_? He had surmised that their having sex as a result of the trip to Mideel was due to his grief and her guilt, but Tseng had hoped that would be the end of it. He was wrong, and that was almost as hard to accept as watching them was. He clenched the door til his fingers turned white as Elena wrapped her legs around Reno, tensing the muscles in unison with his thrusts.

Footsteps coming down the hallway distracted Tseng, and he saw Rude walking down the hallway with a folder in his hand, and moved to intercept him.

"Is that the file I asked for?" Tseng asked Rude.

"Yes, sir." Rude handed him the folder as they both heard Elena cry out. "What was that?"

"Elena probably saw a mouse." Tseng replied.

Rude looked at Tseng, noticing that he seemed almost angry, and then dismissed it as Tseng asked him to find another file as they walked back down the hallway.

As awareness slowly returned, the first thing Reno noticed was a feeling of…not exhaustion or enervation, it was something he couldn't identify yet. Whatever it was, none of all his other women, including Kunnia, had provoked such a response in him. He caressed her thigh until she looked up at him.

"We can't do this again, you heard what Tseng said about the no fraternization rule." The words came reluctantly out of Elena's mouth.

"It's none of his business, and since we have senior rank, he can't get rid of us without Rufus' approval." Reno reminded her.

"But that's why we should be setting the example…"

"If you're that worried about it, you could just start coming over to my place, that way no one has to find out."

"Fine." Elena tried to appear nonchalant about it, but she was very curious to see what his apartment looked like..

Reno smiled in triumph. "Of course, if you really want to be professional, it might help if you'd move your legs so I can get back to work."

"Oh!"

* * *

Three days later, Reno was eating lunch alone when Elena walked into the lounge.

"Where's Rude?" Elena asked as she got her salad from the refrigerator.

"Catching up on paperwork." Reno stood up and pulled out a chair for her.

Elena put her lunch down on a different table before walking over to him. She put her hand flat on his chest and looked up at him. "Reno, we need to act no differently at work than we used to, okay?"

He covered her hand with his own and looked down at her with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Is that really what you want?" Reno asked as he started to caress her hand.

Elena shivered from his touch and couldn't bring herself to pull away. Her other hand came up unbidden and brought his head down to hers.

They ended up on the biggest table there, and Elena barely suppressed a moan when she felt his lips on her breast. She grabbed the table to steady herself as Reno pushed her skirt up and her panties down in one fluid movement. She gasped as she felt Reno's hand between her legs as his mouth switched to her other breast.

Reno let go of her breast and put his lips close to her ear. "My…place…9...tonight. Wear…something…light…blue." He punctuated each word with a movement of his hand.

Elena swallowed hard and nodded her acquiescence, not trusting herself to talk. Reno smiled and put his hands over hers to gain better leverage as he entered her.

Rude was just about to open the employee lounge door when he heard Elena cry out again. Rude jerked his hand away from the door and walked away. He didn't mind fighting monsters, but he wasn't gonna be in the same room with all those mice that Elena kept spotting.

* * *

Elena was about to knock on Reno's door when he opened it. He smiled as he looked at her light blue dress. He gestured for her to come in. Elena walked inside and looked around. It was expertly decorated, mainly with red and black, but with occasional white or neutral décor items for contrast. She had expected something far less elegant. She didn't know why he wanted her in light blue, she easily stood out here.

Reno watched her take in everything as he closed and locked the door. "Is it what you expected?"

"Oh, no, it's so much better." Elena said, then realized that didn't sound right. "I mean it's amazing."

"So are you." Reno kissed her shoulder as his hands pushed the spaghetti straps of her dress down her arms.

Elena held onto Reno as the intensity eased as they laid on the rug in his entryway. The way he had collapsed onto her reminded her of that first night in Mideel.

* * *

Eventually Reno came back to the waiting car, and Elena ordered the driver to the nearest hotel. Reno was obviously in shock, so Elena got them adjoining rooms, then she took him to the hotel bar and ordered the strongest alcohol they had. After Reno downed half the bottle, Elena got him up to his room, while he drank the rest of the bottle on the way.

"Where are we?" Reno slurred his words as Elena sat him down on the bed. He wouldn't let go of her arm, so she sat down next to him.

"At the hotel in Mideel." Elena replied.

"Mideel?" Reno tried to focus his thoughts. "I…I failed here."

"No you didn't fail, Reno, it wasn't your fault. Trust me."

Reno clung to her, and Elena returned the embrace, wanting to give him what comfort she could. She wanted to pull away when she realized that their embrace was becoming intimate, but the grief and guilt in Reno's eyes cut her to core, knowing it for her own guilt, not his. She owed him, and if this was how she had to repay her debt, so be it.

Reno suddenly became aware he was holding a warm female body, and that his body was starting to respond. He pulled away slightly to see who the woman was, but his vision was acting up again and he couldn't see too well.

"Kunnia?" he asked hesitatingly. That was the first name that came to his mind, even though it didn't seem right for a reason he couldn't remember right now, but he didn't know who else it could be.

"It's me, Roth, it's okay." Elena replied when she remembered what name Kunnia had known him as.

Reno smiled and kissed her, and Elena forced herself to ignore the stench of alcohol. He undressed her, then got his own clothes off while Elena got into bed and then Reno slipped in next to her. She was expecting him to come at her in a drunken frenzy, but he took the time to arouse her before he entered her. Elena's body reacted so eagerly to his caresses that she was more than ready to have him inside her.

Reno was slightly confused, the woman beneath him didn't feel quite like Kunnia, but no one else called him Roth. And something was telling him that this was something he had needed and wanted for too long to waste time trying to figure out something was beyond him, and he refocused on what he was doing. The desperate urgency in his thrusts was what Elena had expected, not her body's unexpected echoing of his needs as her own.

Elena lay stunned in Reno's arms. Even her wildest fantasies about what it would be like if Tseng ever returned her affections paled in comparison to this. The explosive intensity of their union had not only made them both cry out, it was still sending shockwaves coursing through her body. Reno seemed similarly affected, because after he collapsed onto her, she felt him trembling. Eventually she realized it wasn't so much from his physical release as his grief and guilt coming out. Her conclusion was confirmed when Reno lifted his head up and looked at her.

"You won't leave me again, will you Kunnia?" he asked like he was afraid of the answer.

"I'm here now." Elena answered.

Reno smiled and kissed her before pulling her tighter against him and falling asleep. Elena woke up sometime later, to find Reno still inside her and his hand on her breast. As soon as she tried to extricate herself, he woke up and round two was just as powerful as the first time. He still mistook her for Kunnia, but it didn't bother Elena, it was a relief. If he didn't remember it was her when he sobered up, so much the better. He wouldn't question her motives that way. She planned to wake up before he did and go back to her room, she couldn't do that right now because she needed to make sure Reno was sound asleep. Before she fell asleep herself, she stretched out next to him so she could easily get up without waking him. When she did finally fall asleep, the last thing she remembered was him caressing her arm.

Reno woke up at dawn, aware of being more well-rested than he had been for years. He had a bad headache though, and he was going to get out of bed to take a couple painkillers when he felt a warm body next to him. He looked down in surprise at the blonde figure curled up against him. Reno was stunned… _Elena_? He tried to recall what happened, but he had no luck. His headache suggested he had been drunk again, but that didn't explain her naked body next to his. Elena wasn't the type for alcohol-induced one night stands, she was better than that. What would Tseng think? He could have had Elena anytime he wanted to, but Tseng never gave her any serious encouragement, he just had a proprietary interest in her. That's why Reno never made a pass at her, he knew he didn't have a chance.

Reno gave up trying to figure it out, he'd get more sleep first. Whatever happened last night, it would probably make more sense then. Most likely she would regret it when she woke up, but at least he had her now. Her hair had fallen to cover her face, so Reno gently tucked it back behind her ear, and Elena smiled in her sleep. He held her closer to him, surprised at how right it felt, and fell asleep again.

* * *

Back in the present, as they lay on his rug, Elena idly wondered if she and Reno would still be here on his floor if she had made a move sooner. Reno kissed her, and Elena responded eagerly. She had never thought she had that much wantonness in her, but Reno had changed that for her. Over the past few years, she had slowly realized she had misjudged him, culminating in that night in Mideel. As her hands roamed all over his body, she tried to ignore the nagging feeling that she had wasted too much of her time with him.

* * *

Reno opened the door and Elena walked in. He smiled to see her wearing a light blue dress again. He wanted to finally show her the bedroom, so he avoided touching her by shoving his hands in his pockets and walked her into the living room. Once there, she took everything in, noticing a display case with a mix of weapons and knick knacks, then her attention was taken by the built-in fish tank. She walked over to it, noticing it contained rare fighting fish she had only seen pictures of before.

"Where did you get them?" Elena spun around too fast, and her heel caught in the rug.

Reno was right behind her, and she had to grab onto him to steady herself, but when she regained her footing, Elena's body started to react to his nearness. She looked up at him, and suddenly she felt the glass of the fish tank against her back, and she was clinging to Reno as he entered her.

Elena woke up some time later on the oversized couch in his living room, her body still humming with pleasure. Reno was on top of her, his head between her breasts. She looked around and noticed her dress was in a pile on the rug, and her bra was hanging off the handle of the katana on his display case. A couple of the knick knacks were in pieces on the floor. She felt a slight movement on top of her, and turned her head back to her chest.

Reno was looking at her, something indefinable in his aqua eyes. "Hey there, sleepyhead."

"I'm sorry about your figurines." Elena said.

"Don't worry, I'll take it out of your hide." Reno teased, gently nuzzling her breasts.

Elena sighed, her body reacting with an interesting mix of serenity and excitement at his touch. He kissed her, and when she energetically responded, his body demanded release. He went slow this time, and Elena had never felt so alive, she was sure every nerve in her body was on fire.

Reno trembled with relief as Elena cried out. He held her until their bodies quieted. He didn't know what it was between them, he just knew he didn't want to lose her. He needed to make sure he didn't screw his second chance up.

* * *

Elena knocked on the door, and heard Reno's voice telling her to come in. Opening the door, she didn't see him. She walked in more and suddenly the door closed, then she felt arms around her waist and lips on her neck. She wanted to be angry by his little trick, but her body recognized him and enjoyed his attention. When she turned around and noticed he was already naked, he lifted her up into his arms.

"This is the only way we're going to make it this far." Reno told her as he carried her to his bedroom.

Elena looked around when he set her back down, noticing that though it was decorated in the same color scheme as the rest of the apartment, there was something different about it. She couldn't quite put her finger on it though, she was too distracted by Reno's fingers on her as he undressed her. She shivered and let him pull her down onto the bed. The silk sheets felt cool and smooth against her skin, counteracted by Reno's warmth. The unusual atmosphere of the room heightened her senses, and her body was hyper-reactive to his touch. She thought she had felt alive last time, but now her body surpassed it.

Reno stretched himself out next to Elena's sleeping body. He had been unsure of exposing himself by having her in his private world, but she was the first woman who had earned the right to be here. Rude had been the only other person who had been here, because Reno had been too drunk to stay upright. And Elena seemed to like being here, based on how many times she cried out in pleasure. He stroked her hair, and she briefly opened her eyes, looking at him.

"Go back to sleep, we've got all night and you'll need your strength." Reno caressed her cheek and kissed her.

Elena woke up suddenly, noticing the storm raging outside. She sat up and watched the rain hit the windows and lightning streaking through the sky, lighting up Reno's bedroom momentarily every so often. She almost cried out when she felt a hand on her thigh when a thunderclap hit almost directly overhead. She looked down and met Reno's eyes. He smiled at her and sat up as well, pulling her to him and they watched the storm together, until the storm raging inside themselves took over.

Elena woke up again, this time to sunshine flooding through the windows. Reno was stretched out on top of her again, and her body protested her attempts to move. Reno hadn't been lying about her needing her strength, she was rather sore this morning, but that's not what her body was protesting, it was her attempts to move away from Reno. He woke up in response to her aborted movements, kissing her before sitting up and starting to get out of bed. Her body screamed in protest, and Elena pulled him back down to her.

Reno smiled, but he didn't respond quite as she had hoped. He let her hold him for a moment, then he got back up, this time taking her with him. He led her into the bathroom, and started a warm bath in his sunken whirlpool tub. When the water was a couple inches deep, he gestured for Elena to get in.

"I'll get us some breakfast and be right back." Reno turned the jets on and left.

Elena slid into the tub, and the warm pulsating water did help relieve some of her soreness. In the kitchen, Reno opened the fridge and his cupboards in despair. All he had was cold pizza and stale pretzels from his favorite bar. _He had forgotten to get food last night after work_! He peeked in the bathroom and noticed with relief that Elena had fallen asleep in the tub, and had positioned herself to keep her head above the water. He hurriedly called the restaurant down the street and ordered two breakfast specials to be delivered right away.

He grabbed some gil from his wallet and paced back and forth in front of the door, yanking it open when he heard someone stop on the other side.

"Whoa, man! I didn't know this was that kind of neighborhood." The delivery man exclaimed.

Reno realized he was still naked, but it was too late now. "Just gimme the food, alright?"

He looked back towards the bathroom, then back to the delivery man, almost throwing the gil at him as he grabbed the bag of food.

"Thanks, buddy." The delivery man said as he counted the money and took his tip out. "And you might wanna do something about those tan lines."

Reno just slammed the door and went back into his kitchen, taking out a bed tray, putting two plates on it, then taking the food out of the to-go containers and putting it on the plates. He wished he had a flower for a centerpiece on the tray, but oh well. He grabbed the tray and headed back to the bathroom. He put the tray on the edge of the tub, and slid in, waking Elena.

"Breakfast is ready." he told her, repositioning her so she was in his lap.

She looked at the tray, then at him. "Where's the silverware and coffee?"

Reno slapped his forehead and went back to the kitchen. Elena smiled to herself. She recognized the breakfast specials from _Marco's Kitchen_ , but decided to not say anything about it. That and the tub water being colder tipped her off that some time had elapsed. He was trying to be sweet, but sweet was not what she or her body wanted right now. After breakfast, she'd take care of that..

By the time Reno got back with the silverware and coffee, Elena had let the cold water out and refilled the tub with hot water again, and had changed her mind.

"Let's eat!" Reno said, then paused when Elena refused to move. "What's wrong?"

"You forgot something else."

Reno groaned in disgust and put his head in his hands. His romantic plans for spending their first day off together had been totally shot to hell. He felt Elena's hands on his as she pulled them away and then she lifted his head, looking in his eyes. He noticed hers were twinkling.

"You forgot it's not _breakfast_ I want right now." she told him.

Reno was about to admit he had totally failed and had no other food to offer her, when her real meaning sunk in. He lit up and pulled her back to him. "Suddenly, I don't either."

Elena would have laughed, but he covered her mouth with his, and her body with his. She closed her eyes at first, but she found the sensation of the warm water swirling around her coupled with his rhythmic movements rather hypnotic, so she reopened her eyes, trying to find something to look at when she felt a slight change in Reno, giving her enough warning. She closed her eyes again and tightened her hold on him, wanting to savor his skill as long as possible. Reno experienced a relief that was more than physical as he poured himself into her. He hadn't ruined things with Elena after all. Her cries of fulfillment were music to his ears.

When Elena started to get out of tub, Reno held onto her.

"Lemme up, I'm gonna be a prune if I stay in here any longer." Elena said.

"I never thought of prunes as sexy before." Reno teased her before letting go and getting out himself.

They dried each other off, then he took the breakfast tray into the kitchen while she tried to find her clothes in his bedroom. She didn't, but looking around the room in daylight, she noticed why it seemed different from the rest of the apartment. The layout of the walls and windows basically made it its own separate space, like another world. She gave up trying to find her clothes and just grabbed a shirt from Reno's closet.

Reno was reheating their breakfast in the microwave when Elena reappeared.

"It's a good thing I'm not the jealous type, otherwise I might be upset at my clothes for looking better on you than they do on me." He commented, looking her over.

Elena pursed her lips together for a moment, before taking her mug of reheated coffee. Sipping it, she looked up at him. "Where's the creamer?" she asked.

"Um, I've got some chocolate milk in the fridge I think."

"Never mind. What about sweetener?"

Reno rummaged around and found a couple sugar packets. Taking them and sweetening her coffee, she sipped again. Noticing that he didn't have a table, she sat herself up on his counter, taking another drink of her coffee. She could tell it was instant, but it still technically was coffee. Reno handed her plate to her, and they ate their breakfast for lunch. When they were done, he went to take her plate back to throw it in the sink, but she wouldn't let it go. Elena suddenly pulled it back forcefully, and Reno falls into her. He stabilized himself by grabbing her waist, and she wrapped her legs around him, trapping him there. Reno notices the challenging expression on her face, and he shrugs. He had sex with her in every other room in the apartment, why not the kitchen too?

After they had finished defiling his counter, he picks her up and carries her back to his bedroom. After he lays her down on bed, he pushes a button and shades come down over the windows, darkening the room.

"Are you tired yet?" Reno asked, joining her.

Elena shook her head, smiling mischievously.

"We'll have to do something about that." Reno said, mirroring her smile.

By the time he had gotten her to fall asleep, he realized that it wasn't only Elena who needed their strength, he would have to stay in top condition as well. He couldn't ever remember feeling so drained. His last conscious act was to pull Elena against him.

When they both awoke later, the sun was just starting to set. Reno pushed the button to retract the shades, and they laid in each others' arms watching the sunset, then Elena reluctantly got out of his bed and resumed her search for her clothes. Reno got up as well, and opened a drawer in his closet, retrieving her outfit. He helped her dress, using that as an excuse to caress her. He walked her to the door, and when she turned to say goodbye, he kissed her, preventing her from gasping when she felt his hand slide up between her legs. He moved his lips to her neck until she cried out, then he caressed her cheek with his other hand.

"Hope that keeps you warm tonight, I'll see you at the office tomorrow." Reno told her.

* * *

Elena walked back into her own apartment, still somewhat in a daze from her time with Reno. She knew she had a silly grin on her face, but she couldn't help it. Noticing her answering machine flashing, she pushed the play button, and then her grin disappeared. Message after message from Tseng, demanding to know where the hell she was. She was about to throw it against the wall when suddenly she recognized Reno's voice saying something. She hit the button to replay his message.

"We've got a problem. My landlord just called, I've got a lot of noise complaints over the last couple days apparently. We'll talk about solutions tomorrow." Reno's voice said.

Elena's grin returned as she could picture the impish grin on Reno's face as he left that message. After she showered and dried her hair, she got in bed when the phone rang again. She groaned and hid her face in the pillow, refusing to get up. Tseng had called three more times after she returned home. The ringing finally stopped as the answering machine picked up.

"Are you warm yet?" Reno asked, then she heard the click of the call ending.

Elena smiled as her body reacted to the tone of his voice. "I am now." she murmured before falling asleep.

* * *

Elena tried to hang on her patience as she watched Reno light the candles in his bedroom. There had been a lot of repair work done lately on the power grid, and as a result, outages were frequent. So that didn't bother her, it was that two days was the longest they felt comfortable being away from each other, and this was the third day.

He finally lit the last candle and turned toward the bed. He slowly ran his hand up Elena's leg as he got down on the bed. His touch was almost unbearable for her as it kept traveling upward, stopping briefly at her breasts before finally caressing her cheek. He drew her to him and Elena felt herself come alive again as he kissed her, her body welcoming his. She was always hyper-reactive when they were together again after being apart for more than those two days, and she had become accustomed to multiple orgasms from their reunion. Reno seemed to have a similar intense reaction, because he always collapsed onto her like a ton of bricks when he was done..

She wrapped her legs around his, keeping him inside her as she caressed him, knowing as soon as he recovered, they would start again. Elena knew from experience that they had only taken the edge off their…hunger was the best word she could think of to describe it. And to satiate their bodies' hunger for each other sometimes wasn't possible before their bodies gave out. But since he had told her that in the morning he was going to be gone for two weeks on a mission, they would try and make this night last her that long.

Soon enough she felt Reno move, and the rest of the night was an erotic blur to Elena. Between their unions, he would use either his hands or mouth to keep her in a constant state of excitement. Their bodies finally gave out around dawn, and they curled up in each other's arms as sleep overtook them. When they woke to his alarm clock buzzing, Reno caressed her cheek and then got out of bed and shut it off, turning back to Elena with his hand outstretched. She took it and he pulled her up and against him.

"We need a bath." Reno led the way.

Elena was grateful for the warm water to relieve and relax sore muscles. She wasn't grateful that Reno did nothing but caress her.

"I am the pilot after all, I gotta save what strength what I have left." Reno told her.

Elena looked at him, startled. Did he read her mind now?

"Your body tenses differently if you're upset." Reno put his arms around her, hugging her briefly before getting out.

He got dressed, as Elena decided to stay in the tub. When he was ready, he knelt down next to her.

"Stay as long as you want, just lock up when you leave." Reno caressed her cheek, kissed her, then he was gone.

Elena sighed…at least two weeks wasn't that long. She was surprised he hadn't told her what the mission was, but she let him have his little secrets, it made her feel better about hers. She stayed in the bath until the water got cold, then she got out and got dressed, looking around his apartment before making sure the door was locked when she closed it.

* * *

Elena sighed as she walked into her office. Reno had been gone on an assignment for nearly three weeks, and she hadn't expected to miss him. And she was worried, he was only supposed to be gone for no more than two weeks. And his presence had been a buffer between her and Tseng. He had constantly been after her in Reno's absence, in not so subtle ways. Any feelings she once had for him were quickly being replaced by contempt.

She sat down and went through the files on her desk, looking for her latest report she needed to type up when she realized she had left her coffee mug in the employee lounge. Walking down the hallway, she was surprised when she was suddenly grabbed her around the waist. Tensing up and turning around quickly, she found herself in Reno's arms.

"Don't do that to me!" Elena tried to sound severe and push him away, but her body had started to react to his presence. "Where have you been?"

"First things first." Reno said as he pulled her into the nearby utility closet.

Once the door closed, his lips on hers set off a firestorm within Elena fueled by his long absence and surprise return. She pulled him further into the closet, stopping when she felt the back wall against her back, then she put his hands on her skirt, which he obligingly removed along with her panties as she unfastened his pants.

Reno then caressed her thighs and lifted her up against the wall as Elena wrapped her legs around his waist, her body screaming for him. She tightened her arms around his neck as Reno's rough thrusts answered her fierce need for him.

"I should go away more often." he said when they could speak again.

Elena kept her eyes closed, trying to prolong the feelings running through her body, opening them reluctantly when she felt Reno gently unwrapping her legs and setting her back down, but keeping her in his embrace. She ran her hands all over him as her body demanded more of him to make up for his absence. He kissed her again as they both sunk down to the floor.

* * *

"Why were you gone so long?" Elena asked as she got dressed again.

"I'll let you get back to work." Reno evaded her question as he caressed her cheek. "But I think you _might_ wanna put your panties back on first." He dangled them on his finger in front of her.

* * *

Rude was headed to the employee lounge when he heard Elena's cries again, and followed the sound to the door of a utility closet, and he saw the doorknob rattle. Did she get locked in with mice?

"Damned door's locked…I'll take care of it." Reno told Elena as he took a few steps back and charged the door when it suddenly opened and Reno ended up flinging himself into the wall opposite the door.

Rude blinked in surprise as he saw his partner hit the wall, and then saw Elena standing in the utility closet. Reno…and _Elena_? He looked from her to Reno and back to her again. Elena's clothes were disheveled and her face was turning the same shade of red as Reno's hair. Then Rude remembered Tseng's behavior when he said Elena was crying out over a mouse, and Reno's smug expression whenever Rude would bring up Elena and the rodent problem. Rude shrugged, they were both adults, so it was none of his business, he just hoped they knew what they were doing.

* * *

The next morning when she arrived early for work and entered her office, Elena was surprised to see Reno sitting in her chair with his feet on her desk.

He smiled when he saw her and stood up and took her hand. "Come on, I've got a surprise for you." He started to walk her out the door.

"What's going on?" Elena resisted leaving her office.

"We've got the day off, I cleared it with Rufus. Come on." He tugged on her again and she followed him.

They took an elevator down to the first floor, and when they got out, he put his hands over her eyes.

"Reno, what are you doing?"

"Trust me, and don't open your eyes." Reno said.

Elena sighed and let him guide her to wherever he was taking her. He took his hands off her eyes once, and Elena could tell that it was to open the door of the building by the fresh air that wafted towards her. She also could tell by the sounds around her that they were heading towards Shinra's private airstrip, but didn't tell him to play along.

All of a sudden, he stopped, so she did too. She felt him take her hands off her eyes and move away from her, and she heard a sound of something with wheels being moved.

"Keep your eyes closed!" he warned her.

Elena felt Reno picking her up and carrying her up some steps and turning a corner, but she had no idea what was going on. Reno stopped and gently set her down, then moved away from her.

"Okay, you can open them now!" Reno told her.

Elena opened her eyes and was surprised to find them in the executive helicopter. She was even more surprised to see Reno in the pilot's seat. "What…what's going on?"

Reno grinned and exposed his forearm so she could see the scars and the reddened skin around them which suggested they were very recent. "They didn't have to give me prosthetics, just replace the damaged nerves with some kind of electronic cable that will serve the same function. Fixed my eyes too. You're never looked better." Reno kissed her.

"That's why you were gone so long?" Elena asked.

"Yep, took a little longer than they thought to fine tune everything, then I had to re-qualify for my pilot's license."

"So this is your surprise?"

"Well, half of it. Strap yourself in this time, okay?" Reno sat her down in the closest seat and then got back in the pilot's seat.

Elena did take proper safety precautions, and she was glad of the lengthy flight, because she needed to sort her thoughts out. She was glad he was a pilot again, but part of her was afraid of the way he seemed to imply he did it for her. If he was getting that serious about her, then it would hurt him that much more if he ever found out the truth about the triplets. She didn't want him hurt anymore, because…Elena's thoughts were cut off by the feeling of the helicopter landing.

"We're here." Reno said, getting up and grabbing a picnic basket Elena hadn't noticed before. He also grabbed a couple blankets from one of the overhead compartments, which he draped over the picnic basket.

Elena hesitated for a moment, then undid her harness and followed him. Reno jumped down to the ground, put the basket down, then reached up and grabbed her by her waist, swinging her down to the ground. Elena noticed they were in a mountainous area below a large hill with a single tree on it. Reno picked the basket back up with one hand, and took Elena's hand with his other hand, and started walking up the hill.

When they got to the top, Reno put the basket down and pulled a checkered blanket out and spread it out under the tree as Elena looked around more. She didn't see anything that interesting, except for the waterfall in the cliffs directly across from them.

"You thirsty?" Reno asked.

Elena noticed that he had an ice bucket on the blanket with a small bottle of her favorite wine, a wine glass, and a can of his favorite beer. Reno was sitting against the tree, with one of the blankets from the helicopter around his shoulders. That's when Elena realized how chilly it was getting. She went and sat down on the picnic blanket, and he wrapped the other blanket around her. Reno then pulled her backwards to him, stopping when her back was snug against his chest. After he poured a glass of wine for her, he opened his beer.

"Why are we here?" Elena asked as she took a sip of her wine.

"Have to wait until sunset. Trust me, it's worth waiting for, but you won't have to wait too long." Reno answered.

Elena continued sipping her wine, leaning her head back against his neck as Reno drank his beer. Elena wasn't used to being with Reno in a non-sexual manner, but it felt just as right as having him inside her did.

Reno was right, it wasn't too long before the sun started setting, and he turned on a lantern he took out of the basket, then pointed to the waterfall. Elena gasped as the waterfall seemed to turn to liquid fire.

"How?" Elena didn't know what else to say.

"The setting sun does it, I'm not sure how. Noticed it one day flying over, and came back to check it out after the mission was over." Reno held Elena close to him, glad she was as amazed as he hoped she would be. They watched until the sun went down and the sky turned dark.

As the moon rose, Elena shivered, and Reno held her tighter. She turned her head to look at him, and when he kissed her, she shivered again. Reno was just as gentle as he had been rough yesterday. As Elena lay naked in his arms, she realized that even though the sex was just as fulfilling as it had always been, it was almost an afterthought, it wasn't the main point of them being together today. She was afraid to admit to herself how important he had become to her. Elena swore to herself would do _anything_ to make sure he never knew the truth. Reno caressed her arm, and she snuggled against him, falling into an utterly contented sleep.

Reno woke up in the middle of the night, the lantern starting to dim out, so he got dressed and wrapped Elena up in a blanket, picking her up and then grabbing the lantern, making his way carefully back down the hill. The movement caused Elena to start to wake up, but when Reno kissed her, she smiled and went back to sleep. He got her into the helicopter still asleep, and put her in one of the seats, reclining it to a comfortable sleeping position, then strapped her in before going back up the hill for the rest of their belongings. He put her clothes in the seat next to her, and got back in the pilot's seat to take them back to Junon. He knew where he wanted to take her on their next outing. He had seen so many interesting places over the years,he just never had anyone he wanted to share them with until now.

* * *

"What is it, Elena?" Rufus asked, paying more attention to his computer monitor than to her.

"Sir, I…that is, it would be very…" Elena stammered.

Rufus finally looked at her, and she blushed. "Out with it, Elena, I don't have all day." He was intrigued to find out what she found so hard to say.

"I need your help." She blurted out.

"What kind of help?"

She looked down at the carpet and blushed again. "I need your office for three hours next Tuesday."

He guessed what she had in mind, but couldn't resist amusing himself at her expense, for old time's sake. He stood up and stalked over to her, looking down at her with a serious expression on his face. "What gives you the right to ask such a thing?"

"I meant no offense, sir, I just…"

Rufus put his hands firmly on her shoulders. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, Elena."

"Sir?"

"Why do you want my office?" Rufus frowned, an angry glint in his eyes.

"It's Reno's birthday, and I thought…" Elena started to say, when Rufus took his hands off her shoulders and started holding his sides, laughing.

"Sir?"

"Oh, if you could see your face, Elena…sit down and tell me what your plan is." Rufus gestured to an empty seat as he sat back down in his chair.

Elena left a short while later, not really sure if she had won or not. But at least she would be able to give Reno something he had hinted that he wanted on occasion. Rufus had agreed to let her use his office, but with strings attached...

* * *

Reno walked into Rufus' office next Tuesday morning, wondering what the hell was going on. Rufus was standing behind his desk, facing the window with his hands clasped behind his back, seemingly not in a good mood. The windows were shaded, and the lights were dimmed.

"You wanted to see me?" Reno asked.

"It has come to my attention that you think you ought to be the one sitting in that chair." Rufus pointed to his executive chair.

"What?"

"It's no use denying it. If you think you want it, go ahead and try it out."

"I don't know what's goi…" Reno started to say.

"Sit!" Rufus commanded, interrupting.

Reno shrugged and walked behind the desk, sitting in the chair.

"Enjoy it while it lasts." Rufus smiled grimly. "Come find me when you get tired of it."

Reno watched Rufus walk out, and was about to stand up and follow him, when the door suddenly slammed shut. Reno sat there with his mouth open as Elena, clad in only a light blue see-through baby doll nightie, locked the door.

"What…" Reno's confusion was overwhelming him.

"Happy Birthday, Reno." Elena said as she sat in his lap and kissed him.

His body automatically responded to her as his mind raced to catch up. He felt her unfasten his pants and then she repositioned herself to get him inside her.

"How did…" Reno started to ask, but Elena kissed him into silence again, and he gave up. He was fascinated by watching her breasts jiggle as she rocked back and forth.

Elena trembled in his arms as the climax overtook them both, then smiled at him when they recovered. "We've got until lunch. What else do you want?"

Reno tucked her hair back behind her ear and caressed her cheek before smiling back to her. He leaned forward and whispered something in her ear.

"You're the birthday boy." Elena's eyes twinkled.

"Boy? Boy? I'll show you boy!" Reno exclaimed in mock outrage.

Elena laughed as he picked her up and laid her down on Rufus' desk. Her laughter turned into a gasp, then a moan as Reno proceeded to demonstrate what he meant.

* * *

Rufus came back to his office at the scheduled time, but found his door still locked. "What the…" He pounded on the door. "Go use your own offices if you're not done yet!" He was answered by Elena crying out.

"Damned perverts! That's the last time I do them a favor…" Rufus muttered as he stormed off. He wasn't going to use his key and barge in, he had no interest in being asked to join them, Elena held no fascination for him anymore.

* * *

Inside the office, Reno was caressing Elena's cheek as she tiredly curled up against him. He'd let her rest a while before they left. He was touched that she tried so hard to be sexy for him. She was the only woman who never needed to try with him, he would have found her sexy if she did nothing but clean her fingernails. He tightened his arms around her.

* * *

A little while later, Reno stroked Elena's arm, gently waking her up. "It's time to go now."

"What time is it…" Elena looked at the clock and bolted out of Reno's arms. "Oh no! Lunch was over an hour ago!"

She rushed around, looking for her suit before she realized it was still in her office, she had changed there and Rufus had taken her in the elevator directly to his office. All she had was the nightie…

Reno put his jacket around Elena, then opened the door and peeked out. "Coast is clear."

Elena hurried out to the elevator, clutching Reno's jacket around her. She hurriedly pushed the Down button as he came up behind her. When the doors opened, they got in and Reno entered his security code as Elena hid behind him. The ridiculousness of the situation finally got to Elena, and she started giggling.

Reno turned around and looked at her. "What?"

"Happy Birthday!" Elena's giggling got louder.

"Oh, you think my birthday is funny?" Reno said, backing her into a corner.

Elena shook her head in a negative response, since she couldn't stop giggling long enough to give a verbal answer.

"We'll see if we can't cure those giggles."

Reno bent down to kiss her, and her arms went up to encircle him, dropping the jacket, just as the elevator door opened. Rude stood there, a stunned look appearing briefly on his face.

"Oh, so you're the reason Rufus is throwing a tantrum." Rude said, folding his arms and trying to look stern.

Elena started giggling again after failing an attempt to act properly contrite and Reno smirked. Rude just threw his hands up and pushed the button on the elevator, and the doors started sliding closed.

"If anybody asks, I never saw you!" Rude said through the closing doors.

* * *

By the time Reno and Elena finally made it back to her office, there was only an hour left before they clocked out for the day. She quietly went inside, then her arm came out holding his jacket. He put it back on, and waited there until she opened the door to go home.

"What are you still doing here?" Elena asked, surprised.

"I just wanted to say thanks for the best birthday I've had in a long time." Reno caressed her cheek and kissed her before walking away.

"Reno!" Elena called out on impulse.

He stopped and turned around. Elena was reopening the door to her office.

"The day isn't over yet…" she said.

Reno's smile matched hers as he hurried back and grabbed her in his arms, kicking her door closed behind them and locking it.

* * *

The janitor was making his midnight rounds when he noticed the next office had a light still on. Testing the door, he found it locked. Assuming they left the light on by accident, he gets the his keyring out when the door is suddenly opened, and a naked man with red hair looked at him. Thankfully the door blocked most of his body.

" _Occupado, padre_." The redheaded man said, when a feminine hand appeared and started caressing the man's chest.

The man looked behind him and slammed the door closed, locking it again. The janitor just stood there for a moment in surprise, hearing a woman start giggling and stop suddenly, followed by the sound of things getting knocked to the floor, probably from a desk. The janitor just shook his head and continued on his rounds. This was supposed to be a classy office building, not those cheap no-tell motels he used to work at. If this is what he was going to have to put up with, he was going to ask for a raise.

* * *

Elena sighed in contentment and smiled at Reno before she fell asleep in his arms. They were on the couch in her office, having finally worn themselves out. Reno tucked her loose hair behind her ear and held her tighter against him. He was as contented as he'd ever been as well. He meant it when he told Elena it was the best birthday he'd had in a long time, Reno just didn't have the heart to ever tell her his birthday was actually four days ago.

* * *

Reno and Elena lay sated in each other's arms in his bed. Elena had learned to be careful to not be alone with him at work. If that coffee maker in the employee lounge could talk, Elena would take a baseball bat to it. At least Reno had finally was able to pilot helicopters again, so she didn't have to worry about repeating that. And over the past six months, every subsequent time they were together, it was just as intense as the first time. She tried to be professional at work, but he would occasionally make remarks to tease her. And Tseng, he had become quite a…Elena refused to think of him anymore.

Reno felt her body stiffen suddenly. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Elena forced a smile. "Just thinking about work."

"You're thinking about work now?" Reno moved so he could look at her face.

"Well, I do have to get back to my place and get some actual sleep so I can get to work on time." Elena replied.

"Why don't you stay here tonight?" Reno asked, tightening his arm around her.

"Because I don't have a change of clothes here. I can't wear the same outfit to work days in a row like you do."

"You could try wearing nothing." he teased her.

"I don't think so." Elena tried to get up. "Reno, come on…"

"If you insist…" Reno slipped his hand between her legs.

Elena closed her eyes and sighed as sensations flooded through her again. Reno had been a very quick study of how to make her body sing. "That's cheating." she eventually managed to say. She tried to squirm away, but that only made it worse…or better, so she gave up.

"All's fair…" Reno said as he covered her.

Elena bit her lip to keep from crying out as he entered her at just the right moment to finish what his hand had started, and he went slow enough that once she recovered from that orgasm, only moments passed before they climaxed together. Reno liked to make comments at work to Rude about all the noise complaints he was getting from other tenants on his floor, but he wanted it to be truthful, so it became a game to him to try and get her to cry out as loud as possible. Their dates were always Reno flying her to some interesting isolated spot he had found, where they could be as uninhibited as they wanted, but when they did have sex during their picnics, it was more just to reaffirm their relationship than to accommodate their bodies' demanding need for each other. Reno saved his best skills for when they were at his place.

* * *

Reno helped Elena into the executive helicopter and made sure she was strapped in before he got into the pilot's seat and took off.

Elena wondered where they were going this time. Reno seemed more secretive than usual about this particular outing, but at least it gave her time to get herself under control. Whatever had been started between them in Mideel, it was beyond her understanding. She only knew that it was pointless to resist whatever it was between them, not that her body would let her…

Reno sighed as he lifted off. He was pretty sure Elena wouldn't be happy when they got to their destination, but that's why they needed to go there. He hoped she wouldn't be too mad at him for too long. This wasn't their typical outing, this was more of a personal mission, like the one that got them together in the first place. He still didn't remember any of their first night at the hotel in Mideel, but he vividly remembered their time together on the flight home. Reno smiled at the memory, then suddenly realized something was wrong. He looked at all the controls, realized they were still in good order. He finally looked down at himself, and realized that was problem, his memories of Elena had gotten his body excited.

"Dammit!" Reno looked around for a place to land, and eventually found one. When the helicopter was safely on the ground, he turned on the intercom and asked Elena to come see him. He unfastened his pants while he was waiting for her, and when he heard her footsteps get closer, he activated the privacy shield and the windows darkened.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked as she stopped next to his chair. She didn't see anything wrong with any of the instrumentation as far as she knew. Her flesh on her left leg suddenly quivered, and she turned to see him kissing her thigh. She also noticed his pants open.

Elena sighed. "Again, Reno?" She hurriedly got undressed and let him pull her into his lap, her body warming and relaxing as soon as it felt his touch.

After they had sated themselves, Reno put his hands on her hips and looked up at her. "You ready to go now?" He teased her.

"If you think _you_ can get us there in one piece." Elena retorted as she got up off him and started getting dressed.

Reno swatted her butt playfully as she left the cockpit and strapped herself back into her seat. Once he assured himself she was safe, he took off again. It wasn't just the thought of her that triggered his need for her, it was his uncertainty of how she would react to their destination. Luckily she fell asleep on the way, so once they got there, he was able to get their campsite ready without worrying her. Once that was done, he went over to her seat and caressed her cheek.

"We're here, Elena." Reno told her when she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"So now I can find out the great big secr…." Elena stopped short when she looked out the doors. "Why are we here?"

"You know you still have nightmares about it." Reno took her hand and led her resisting out of the helicopter into the Crater. "There's nothing here to be afraid of anymore."

Elena looked at the campfire and sleeping bags, one on each side of the fire. _Separate_ bags?

"We can smoosh 'em together if you want." Reno said, noticing the expression on her face.

Elena then noticed the two picnic baskets, each with a cold weather nightwear set on it, his and hers. Elena pulled her hand out of Reno's and grabbed the hers picnic basket. She noticed the nightwear was in her size, and upon opening the basket, found it full of her favorite snacks and drinks. She sat on the sleeping bag furthest from Reno as she changed her clothes. Even though she did still have nightmares about being tortured by the Remnants when they captured her and Tseng in the Crater, reliving that wasn't her greatest fear anymore. It was him finding out the truth and leaving her.

As Reno changed into his nightwear, he wondered if he should tell her that this trip wasn't just for her. The Crater haunted him too…it was his last mission here when he set things in motion that led to the deaths of Kunnia and their children.

Elena got into her sleeping bag, then realized she didn't have enough of a pillow. She was trying to get comfortable when hands grabbed her. She stifled a scream when she realized they were Reno's hands, pulling her sleeping bag. When it was close enough to his, he lifted the top of it and her head onto his lap.

"Go to sleep, I'll play lookout." Reno said as he stroked her hair.

Elena would have resented being treated like a child if she were awake enough, but her body was too relaxed by his nearness, and she fell asleep before she knew it.

Reno didn't know how long he sat up there, watching Elena's facial expressions change while she slept, but he suddenly realized the fire was almost out. He gently moved her so he could put more wood on it. While he was tending the fire, he suddenly heard Elena scream. Looking over at her, he saw her flailing her arms in the midst of a nightmare. He threw himself on top of her, grabbing her arms.

"Wake up, Elena. You're safe now, I've got you." Reno loudly repeated until her screams and struggling ceased.

"Reno?" Elena asked, her voice cracking.

"I'm here."

"Don't ever leave me!" She clung to him with a fierce need that for once wasn't sexual.

As he did what he could to calm Elena back down, he realized that was what was between them, a need for each other that was so basic/fundamental it overrode everything else. He had never been big on all that flowery talk about soul mates and such. Philosophy was not his strong suit, he was a Turk after all. Something in Elena needed him as much as something in him needed her, that was all he needed to know. He smoothed her hair back from her face and kissed her cheek before he positioned himself so he could hold her comfortably, then he fell asleep.

Elena woke up, finding herself staring at dying embers, with Reno's arms snug around her waist. She wasn't used to feeling safe because of someone else, but she did. She didn't like showing weakness either, as she remembered clinging to Reno after her nightmares. At least he wouldn't embarrass her over it, since he wanted her to not be afraid anymore as much as she did. When she put her hands over his to move his arms so she could get up, she felt his lips on her neck, and her pulse quickened. Elena turned around to face him and he tightened his arms around her as she kissed him. When she took off her nightgown and undid her bra, she smiled in contentment as Reno obliged her unspoken need by moving his lips down to her breasts. She gasped moments later when she realized he was continuing downward. Her cries of fulfillment echoed throughout the Crater as easily as her nightmarish screams had.

Reno pulled his head back and straightened out, getting his morning stretch out of the way while Elena recovered. He caressed her cheek when he saw her reopen her eyes. She sighed at his touch, grateful that instead of being verbally demonstrative, which she had found to be unreliable during her time as a bartender, he had a special touch for her. Every time she felt his hand on her cheek, a soft warmth flooded through her. Reno went to pull away and get some breakfast, but Elena grabbed the waistband of his pants.

"Come on, Elena, I'm hungry." It was Reno's turn to gasp as he felt her hands caress his penis.

An impish grin spread over Elena's face as she felt him harden and his obvious reluctance. She wasn't going to be in an unequal relationship, he had his turn with her already this morning, now it was her turn with him.

Reno groaned as he looked down at her blonde head at his waist. He wondered why she had never done this for him before, and where she learned, then decided he didn't want to know, anymore than she probably wanted to know that he had visited his favorite brothel a month after they got together. Of course that had been a miserable failure…even when he had been with Kunnia, he had still been able to perform with other women, he just preferred her. But since he and Elena started having sex, his body had no interest in other women. He didn't even feel interested in experimenting much with her. They had tried a few different things, but the overwhelming intensity of their unions never changed, regardless of their experimentation. As if on cue with his thoughts, Reno's body trembled with impending release.

Elena felt it too, and paused to smile mischievously. That was all the impetus Reno needed to pull her up and against a nearby stalagmite, the act of entering her triggering his release. A smug overtone was added to her impish grin as she held him. He slowly detached himself and looked at her.

"You ready for breakfast now?" Elena asked, still grinning. She felt she had made her point. If he got to play with her, she was gonna play with him.

Reno nodded, and Elena rummaged through both picnic baskets to get their breakfast, while he got the campfire burning again. After she was done eating, Elena frowned.

"What's wrong?" Reno asked.

"Is the water tank for the helicopter full? I could use a shower." Elena really wanted a bath, but a shower would do.

"There's a hot springs pool over that way." Reno waved his hand off to the right.

Elena grabbed liquid soap, a towel, and shampoo from the helicopter bathroom before walking off in the direction he indicated. She found it and put her towel on a rock nearby, then put her nightgown and bra next to it. She had quit wearing panties because of Reno. She wondered if the hot springs had been used by the Ancients, it looked like it could have been altered for people to use. There was a gentle smooth rock incline into the pool. She cautiously extended her leg and stuck her toe in to test the temperature. It was just fine, so she walked in far enough to have the water cover her breasts.

She dunked her head and then shampooed her hair, dunking it again until she was sure all the suds residue was gone. She walked back up the incline a few feet and rinsed out her eyes with cleaner water, then walked up a little further and sat down, opening the liquid soap and lathered up. She was rinsing herself off when she suddenly got splashed. Looking around in surprise, she saw Reno by an outcropping of rocks at the other end of the pool. As soon as she spotted him, he sent water flying at her again with an amused yet challenging expression on his face.

Elena stood up, took a deep breath, and dived into the pool, heading for the outcropping. When she surfaced there, she didn't see any sign of Reno. She put her hands on the rock and started to lift herself up to get a better look when she felt his hands on her waist pulling her back into the water. She was about to ask what he thought he was doing, when he kissed her neck and held her tight against him. Elena barely had time to brace herself against the rocks before he started. Her memories of the last time she had sex in a pool came to mind, and she blushed. It had been a lifetime ago, when she had been a naïve high school student working as a bartender, and a bored customer close to her own age had given her a most thorough education in response to her questions.

Reno's grip on her tightening brought her back to the present in time for the explosive finish. Elena blushed again, half in response to Reno's performance, half for her being distracted by thoughts of a former lover. She was grateful she was facing away from him. He kissed her neck again before swimming away. Elena waited until he was walking up the incline to go back to their campsite, then swam over hurriedly and splashed him.

Reno turned his head to look at her and took note of her expression. "You think that's funny?"

Elena nodded quickly, then led Reno on a merry chase around the pool, letting him catch her near the top of the incline.

"You lose!" He said as he stretched out over her.

"What do I lose?" She asked teasingly as he caressed her thigh.

Reno kissed her instead of answering, and Elena's body reveled in his renewed presence. She was glad he was going slow and gentle, the stone incline wasn't quite as smooth as it looked. The warm water lapped around their toes as Elena cried out. He smiled and kissed her again.

"You lose anyone who can't do that to you." Reno caressed her cheek.

When they started back to the campsite, Elena's backside was sorer than she thought it would be, and she had to take small steps. When Reno noticed she was having trouble, he came over and looked at her back. Then he picked her up and carried her in his arms back to the campsite, and set her down gently on her sleeping bag.

"I'll be right back." Reno went to the helicopter and got a tube of ointment from the first aid kit.

Elena hissed when the ointment touched her skin. Reno's touch was gentle, but it still stung. "How bad is it?" she asked.

"Not bad, it should be fine in a day or two." Reno said as he finished applying the ointment. "I don't know about you, but I'm gonna get some sleep now. We have to leave before dark, don't forget."

Reno got in his sleeping bag, hoping he can get enough rest to get them safely home. It was going to be dark for most of the flight, but he wanted to at least take off in daylight. He had been hoping for more fun at the hot springs, but putting the ointment on Elena had reminded him that he had gotten Kunnia killed by using her just a vessel for his own relief, and he didn't want to make that mistake again.

Elena lay frustrated in her own sleeping bag. Even though it had been for medical reasons, Reno's caresses had stimulated her body into anticipating further activities, and now she heard him snoring. She wasn't fragile, if she can handle torture, she can handle light skin abrasions. She'd show him when she woke up, she was a bit tired herself.

Reno woke up and looked around, momentarily confused at the cleaned up campsite. The picnic baskets and Elena's sleeping bag were gone, and she was nowhere in sight. He got up and checked the helicopter, and found the baskets and her sleeping bag, but not her. Eventually he checked the hot springs pool. Walking to the edge of the incline, he looked for any sign of her when he was suddenly pulled into the water.

Elena plastered her naked body against Reno when he surfaced, kissing him fiercely. He was momentarily stunned, then his body responded and his arms tightened around her as she tugged at his pants. He backed her up against the stone side wall of the incline, holding onto the stones for support. Elena wrapped her legs around him, tightening them when she felt him inside her. The exquisite relief engulfed them both, and Elena smiled in triumph as Reno clung to her.

When they made it back to the campsite, Reno restarted the fire and spread his clothes out near it to dry. They couldn't leave until then. He sighed and noticed movement in his peripheral vision, turning to see Elena on his sleeping bag looking at him. _Again?!_ Her back must still hurt, but he reminded himself that it was her idea.

"You're gonna be the death of me, you know that?" Reno said as he let her pull him towards her.

After they had sated themselves again, Elena put her head on Reno's chest, listening to his heart beat. She wasn't looking forward to starting the work week tomorrow. Something in her wanted to stay here longer. But they could always come back when they wanted to, at least. After his clothes were dry enough, they put out the fire, got the rest of their belongings, and headed back to the helicopter. Elena fell asleep on the flight home, and Reno woke her up when they landed back in Junon.

"Wake up, Elena, we're here." Reno undid her harness as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

After a moment, she stood up and looked for her travel bag. Reno handed it to her, and then they left the helicopter. Once they were down on the ground, he kissed her and caressed her cheek.

"I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

 **Chapter 17 Devil's Bargain**

Rufus was looking over some bank statements when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in!"

Tseng walked in and stood in front of Rufus' desk, waiting for his attention.

"What is it, Tseng? This better be important." Rufus said.

"Sir, I think we should do something about Reno and Elena." Tseng explained.

Rufus put the statements down and leaned back in his chair. "Are they still together?"

"Yes, sir, and I think it's affecting their work."

"How do you think that? Elena has obviously been very good for Reno, I've never seen him better."

"If she has feelings for him, she might feel obligated to tell him the truth about the triplets."

"On the contrary, I think if she does have feelings for him, she wouldn't want to jeopardize the relationship by him finding out she lied to him about such a thing. Don't bother me with your petty jealousy anymore, Tseng." Rufus dismissed him.

Tseng stalked out of the office, then paused on the way back to his office. "How much does she want to protect him?" he mused as he resumed walking.

* * *

Later that day, Elena walked into Tseng's office. "You wanted to see me, sir?" she inquired, expecting to be giving another research assignment. Since Meteor and Geostigma, not to mention Deepground, Shinra had switched their focus and become a cross between venture capitalists and an investment firm, seeking to rebuild the planet and the economy. The Turks had mainly been investigators for various investment ideas for the past few years.

"Yes, I did." He got up from his desk and locked the door, then put his hands on her shoulders. "I thought we might _talk_."

His touch made Elena's skin crawl, when once it would have thrilled her. "Sir, I have to work to do."

She tried to walk away, but he tightened his grip on her shoulders til it hurt.

"You're not serious about him, are you?" Tseng leaned his head down til his lips almost touched her ear. "Does he still call you by _her_ name?" He whispered.

Elena stiffened, then wrenched herself away from him and unlocked the door, before turning around to face him. "He doesn't make my skin crawl." With that, she left, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

The next day at lunch, Reno and Rude were at their table in the employee lounge, and Elena, still trying to be professional, was sitting alone at the table she sometimes shared with Tseng.

"Why don't you sit over here? Rude's lap is available. It's really comfy!" Reno called over to her.

Elena blushed and looked down at her chef salad, pretending to ignore them.

"Leave her alone, man, you get to play with her enough after hours." Rude told him. He had been shocked when he realized they were involved, but he was glad for it, because it had done Reno a world of good. He hadn't seen him this happy in years. He hadn't missed how _un_ happy Tseng had become either. If Rude didn't know better, he'd think Tseng was losing it.

As if on cue, Tseng walked in with a folder in his hands. "Who feels like heading to Gongaga?"

"Gongaga?" Elena's head shot up, and the word came out in a strange tone.

"Are you _volunteering_?" Tseng asked her, also in a strange tone.

Reno and Rude looked back and forth between Elena and Tseng, not understanding the undertones, but being aware of it. Reno had started to stand up, not sure if he needed to do something, when Elena spoke.

"Do we leave at once?" Elena asked Tseng, still sounding strange.

Tseng nodded and gestured for her to walk out first. Elena put her salad back in the fridge and left with him, looking back at Reno with an odd expression on her face, until Tseng put his hand on her back to get her out the door faster.

Reno sat back down, confused, before he turned back to Rude. "Well, I guess we can go have some fun tonight, old buddy."

"Sorry partner, I already have my fun lined up for tonight." Rude informed him.

Reno pouted momentarily. "Well, let's get back to work then."

* * *

Elena refused to talk to Tseng during the flight to Gongaga. When they got into the waiting car, she spoke out of necessity.

"What's the assignment?" she asked Tseng.

"You'll find out. First we check into the hotel." he replied.

Elena's lips thinned when Tseng only got one single room for the both of them. They went upstairs with their luggage, and once there, she repeated her request for information.

Tseng went to the window and looked at his watch. "Soon enough."

Elena sat down in the chair and ignored him for what seemed ages until he spoke again.

"It's time." Tseng gestured for her to come to the window.

Elena walked over the window and looked where Tseng was holding the curtain open with one hand, and pointing to a school bus with the other. She stiffened as she recognized the two girls. Lily looked very much like her mother, and Ivy was a blend of both her parents. The boy with them must be Ian. Elena stiffened further as she felt Tseng's hands on her bare skin inside her suit.

"The assignment is to find out how much you want to keep Reno from finding out you lied to him." Tseng explained as his hands continued their exploration.

Elena's thoughts went at full speed, considering all the ramifications of her options. It didn't matter if it was Tseng or her who told Reno the truth, he would want to leave the Turks, taking Rude with him, and Elena wasn't sure if Tseng would allow that so easily. And an all-out war amongst the remaining senior Turks would be ugly. The only conclusion Elena came up with is that no matter what her decision, Reno would get hurt somehow. But if she accepted Tseng's proposition, Reno's only hurt would be their relationship ending.

Elena suddenly became aware that Tseng had taken her silence as acceptance, and they were both naked on the bed. He paused when her body refused to admit him, despite his attempts to arouse her. He was quite skilled, but her body knew he wasn't Reno, and didn't want him.

"Just do it." Elena said as she turned her head away and closed her eyes. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, not from the pain as much the realization that each of Tseng's thrusts was taking her an irrevocable step away from Reno. The only hope she had to cling to was that she had protected him.

Eventually Tseng sated himself, and Elena laid there under him, waiting for him to sleep. When she heard Tseng snoring, she got out from under him and went to the bathroom, when she vomited until it was just dry heaves. Her body felt nowhere as sick as her spirit did. She cleaned herself up and got back into the bed, curling herself into a ball.

Tseng woke up a short time later, pulling her towards him while telling her he was glad that she was a one-man kind of woman. Elena knew what he meant, and she tried to console herself with the thought that Reno would easily find someone else to be happy with, but the thought of him with someone else made her feel more like crying than any previous moment in her life, even when she was being tortured by the Remnants.

* * *

Elena walked into her apartment and threw her overnight bag into the trash. She didn't want to keep anything Tseng had touched. She couldn't throw herself away, though. She shuddered, remembering how Tseng had ended up forcing himself on her, because her body had refused to accept him. _How could she tell Reno she couldn't see him anymore_? Tseng hadn't been that subtle in his 'hints' that his silence required her complete cooperation, and how complete it would have to be. She laid on her bed and curled up into a ball and fell asleep.

A light touch on her arm woke up, and she opened her eyes to see Reno sitting on the bed next to her. He caressed her cheek when he saw her open her eyes.

"You missed our date last night." Reno told her.

"I'm sorry." Elena shivered, not only from his touch, but from how cold she suddenly felt inside.

"Is something wrong?" Reno asked.

"Just tired."

"I have a cure for that." Reno smiled as he bent down to kiss her.

Elena started to kiss him back, then suddenly pulled away. "Please don't."

"Elena, what's wrong?" he asked again.

She turned away and refused to look at him. "Please leave. I need to be alone."

Elena heard him leave after a few moments, and winced when she heard the door slam.

Tseng took note of Reno's departure, pleased with Elena. She had obviously gotten rid of him, judging by how upset Reno looked. Tseng thought about paying her a visit, but there would be time enough for that later, and she would forget Reno soon enough, since she had him now, just like she had always wanted.

The next morning, Rude was pouring himself some coffee when Elena walked in. He did a double-take, she looked so different. Not only was that inner glow she had recently was gone, but she looked terribly pale as she got her cup of coffee. Rude was about to ask her who died when Reno walked in and stood next to her, and Elena put her head down, keeping her back to him. Reno caught Rude's eye and moved his head towards the door. Rude looked at him, then Elena, then shrugged and left. Elena tried to leave too, but Reno blocked her escape.

"Okay Elena, what's going on?" Reno went to caress her cheek, but she backed away.

"Nothing's wrong." She forced herself to say, keeping her head down. She didn't want to see his face right now. "We had our fun, but I've got more important things to do."

"That's not funny, Elena."

"It's not meant to be. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Elena hurried past Reno while he was too stunned to stop her.

Once back in her office, she slammed and locked the door, taking deep breaths as she leaned against it. It was then that she noticed that she had Tseng's mug in her hand. She must have grabbed it by accident instead of her own when she poured her coffee. Rage took hold of her and she flung it out the window, wishing she could have thrown Tseng out the window instead. But he had let her know that if anything happened to him, Reno would not be spared. Elena sunk to the floor, holding her head, unaware of the passage of time until there was a knock at her door, then she heard a key being inserted. She stood up hurriedly, unsurprised to see Tseng walk in, she wasn't safe from him anywhere. He smiled as he saw her standing there.

"You look like you could use some cheering up. After work, I'll expect you at my place in something red." Tseng pulled her resisting body to him and kissed her. "You'll be fine." He walked out and Elena stared down at the floor, noticing she had balled her hands into fists when he kissed her.

She took a deep breath, forcing her hands to unclench themselves and went to her desk to try and focus on work.

* * *

The madam looked up as a familiar figure walked into the brothel. "Oh, Mr. Reno, we haven't seen you here in so long."

"I'm back." Reno forced a smile.

"Well, your VIP membership has expired, do you want to renew it or just stick with a standard membership?" The madam asked.

"I'll renew my VIP status, of course." He took his wallet out and paid her.

She tapped a few keys on the computer and several images of women appeared on the monitor. "Which one would you like tonight?"

He didn't even bother looking. "No blondes or brown eyes."

The madam tapped a few more keys. "How about Esmeralda?"

"Fine." Reno said, still not looking at the monitor as he put his wallet back. He couldn't remember if that was one of the girls he had used before, but it didn't matter. He'd show Elena…

The madam selected a button from a row on the desk and pushed it. A door in the hallway behind her opened, and a beautiful dark haired woman with violet eyes in a white dress stepped out, looking invitingly at Reno. He walked past the security guard and took Esmeralda's hand as she led him into the bedroom. His smile wasn't forced now as he kicked the door closed.

* * *

Elena moved Tseng's head down to her neck just so she wouldn't have to look at his face. She felt so numb that she didn't even know if he had to force himself into her this time or not. Her body was moving with his thrusts, but she didn't feel it. Her mind was stuck on the scene with Reno in the break room. She turned her head to look out the window as Tseng sated himself and clung to her. When she heard him snoring, she looked back out the window and everything in her screamed out for Reno.

* * *

Reno looked out the window as Esmeralda caressed him. He wasn't finding this evening as simple as he had hoped. His body was betraying him and refused to cooperate. Esmeralda might as well have been his grandmother for all his body cared. He had a sudden urge to close his eyes, and when he did, he saw Elena looking at him with a pleading expression on her face, then she disappeared. He opened his eyes and looked at Esmeralda. For a moment, he could have sworn she had Elena's brown eyes. He finally felt a twinge in his body at the momentary resemblance. Reno gritted his teeth…if she was going to haunt him, he was going to get something out of it. Years ago during his training, he had learned about self-hypnosis, and he invoked it now, making himself see Elena when he looked at Esmeralda. His body leapt into action, but his relief was short-lived. As he was refastening his pants, the self-hypnosis wore off, and a wave of disgust washed over him. He barely stopped himself from storming out, letting Esmeralda finish the pleasantries, then he tipped her and hurried out, nodding at the madam as he left.

* * *

Rude looked up in surprise as Reno brought a woman dressed in what Rude called 'hooker chic' into the employee lounge. It had been a month since something happened between him and Elena. Rude didn't know what it was, but he had noticed how miserable they both had been. He wondered if Tseng was behind it, because since then, he had been extremely smug and condescending. At first Reno had kept trying to talk to Elena, and when she wouldn't talk to him, during the lunch break he had started telling Rude about the women in the bars he was picking up, in a loud voice to make sure Elena heard.

Rude had tried to talk to Elena, since talking to Reno was pointless, but she would just say that if Reno hated her now, she deserved it. Rude shook his head over the two of them accomplishing nothing but hurting each other. But bringing that woman here, that crossed a line.

"Reno, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Rude asked him, even though he knew the answer.

"Giving her the grand tour." Reno said. "Relax, I know what I'm doing."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Rude said.

Reno had the woman sitting in his lap when Elena came in, pausing a moment when she saw the woman, then continued walking to the refrigerator and got her salad out. She picked a table where her back was facing them. Reno momentarily ignored the woman as he followed Elena's movements.

"Are women allowed to work here too?" the woman asked, noticing his interest in Elena.

"Yeah." Reno focused on her again. "Do you want to see the corporate helicopter? You wouldn't believe how comfortable it is, you could sleep on the carpeting if you wanted to."

Rude saw Elena's hand tremble as she put her fork down and got up and quickly left the lounge, leaving her salad on the table. Reno saw her leave as well, smiling for a moment, then he frowned.

"Is it really that fancy?" the woman asked. She repeated her question as Reno was distracted by something.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, tour's over." Reno got up suddenly, almost dumping her on the floor as he suddenly got up and left the room.

"What's going on?" the woman asked Rude.

"Work." Rude got out his wallet and gave the woman some gil. "Go ask one of the maintenance techs, they'll be happy to show you the helicopter."

* * *

Elena saw Reno smiling at her, and she felt her heart leap. She tried to say something, but nothing came out. Then he turned and walked away. Elena started to scream as he faded away.

"Now that's more like it." A voice said.

Elena opened her eyes and felt her heart sink as she saw Tseng on top of her. She must have fallen asleep and cried out. At least he thought it was due to his skill. That might make things a little easier if he thought she was responding to him. She closed her eyes again, hoping to see Reno. The last six months there had been precious little that she could find to make life worthwhile, except the hope that she had done what had to be done to protect him.

* * *

Reno sat in the chair, drinking his beer, as tonight's girl did her job. He had given up trying to resume his usual activities. He would be damned if he was going to let Elena continue to haunt him. He wasn't going to make himself see her just to perform. He glanced down at the head between his legs before taking another drink. He put his head back against the chair and closed his eyes, drifting off. He saw Elena again, and she seemed to be trying to say something, but he just turned and walked away. He opened his eyes again, just in time to feel his body start to climax. He tightened his grip on the chair with his empty hand, and he finished drinking his beer as the girl followed protocol and cleaned him up. He stood up and refastened his pants, tipping her before walking out.

The girl came out after he left, giving her tip money to the madam, who counted it out and wrote it down in the ledger before putting it in an envelope with the girl's name and the day's date. After that shift was over, she and some other girls lined up to get their tip envelopes.

"Any interesting customers?" Another girl asked her.

"No, just the usual, and that boring Reno." she replied.

"He wasn't always boring. I heard he used to be somewhat of a legend here." Esmeralda said from behind them.

"That Reno, a legend? All he does is sit there and drink beer while we do all the work." the first girl said as she finally got to the front of the line.

"He's been a good tipper to you." The madam said sharply as she handed the girl her envelope. "I wouldn't complain about easy money if I were you."

The girl took the envelope and quietly signed out, taking the hint. The madam focused her attention to the other girls wanting their night's tips. She had noticed the changes in Reno over the years, and right now he was deeply hurt, but she had been able to have a profitable establishment as long as she had by not getting involved in the clients' private lives. As long as he paid his bills and didn't damage the merchandise, it would have been fine with her if he dealt with his problems by having the girls masturbate in pumpkin pie filling while he had sex with dead toads.

* * *

Elena walked into her office the next morning, noticing some pictures face down on her desk. She turned them over and stood there, stunned as she looked through pictures of Reno with different women. Taking a deep breath, she threw all the pictures in the trash and tried to ignore them. It had to have been Tseng who put them there, she always locked her office when she left for the day, and he was the only other one who had a key. Her helpless anger at him grew yet again. At least when Reno tried to throw other women in her face, the pain was lessened by her hope that he was only trying to hurt her because he was hurting, which meant deep down he still cared.

Elena shook her head, trying to focus on typing up her latest report, when a thought occurred to her. The pictures also meant that Tseng had Reno under surveillance. She shuddered at the implications of that… _he wouldn't, would he_?

* * *

Elena lay in Tseng's bed, waiting for him to get out of the shower, so she could get this night over with. She had thought she had learned what torture was in the Crater, but she had revised her opinion over the past year. If she could find another way to nullify the threat Tseng posed to Reno, she'd do it yesterday. Her thoughts were interrupted by Tseng's appearance, his long black hair still damp. His constant showers were one of his more subtler forms of harassment, implying that she had dirtied herself by her time with Reno, and he needed to clean her filth off. He got into bed and immediately started fondling her. When she forgot to relax her body like she usually had to force herself to do, he paused.

"You're not enjoying yourself tonight." Tseng said pointedly.

"You're not Reno." The retort came out before Elena could stop herself.

The next thing she knew, his hand was around her throat and she didn't know where his other hand was, but her face felt like it was on fire, and he was yelling horrible things about her and Reno. She managed to get off the bed, but he caught her on the side of her head with a statuette, and when she regained consciousness, she found herself handcuffed to Tseng's bed, lying face down, and him on top of her. Pain in unfamiliar areas told her his violence had not stopped while she was unconscious. He was intent on punishing her, judging by the sick things he said and the stabbing pains she felt.

When he had sated himself and fell asleep, Elena lay there in a morass of pain for a few moments before letting herself pass out as well. Her last conscious thought was at least she knew she had made the right decision at Gongaga, because Tseng's underlying resentment of her preference for Reno would have exploded eventually, and she had caused Reno enough hurt. Taking the brunt of Tseng's brutality was the least she could for him.

* * *

In the morning, Tseng was up bright and early. He left Elena handcuffed while he got ready for work, then he sat down next to her, stroking her hair. When she cautiously looked at him, he kissed her.

"I'll see you here tomorrow night, same time." Tseng straightened his tie and tossed the handcuff key next to her on the pillow before leaving.

Elena laid there in pain and shock. Her certainty about making the right decision was fading in the light of day and Tseng's bizarre behavior. She picked up the key with her mouth and brought it to her hands, freeing herself. Her arm muscles were incredibly sore, and her wrists were chafed and bruised. When she tried to stand, her butt and leg muscles protested, and she fell down as soon as she tried to stand. Clutching the bed to try and pull herself up again, she noticed small bloodstains on the sheets. Touching herself, she felt where the blood had come from.

She gave up trying to stand for the moment, and crawled into the bathroom. Starting a hot bath, she pulled herself into the tub and laid there until it got cold, draining and refilling it with fresh hot water again. When it got cold the second time, she drained it and got out, finding she could stand if she had something to support herself with. When she went to open the medicine cabinet to find some pain killers, she froze in shock as she looked in the mirror. She almost didn't recognize her own face. Opening the cabinet, she found some pain killers and took two before managing to get back to the bedroom and get dressed.

Elena was glad Tseng had a loft bedroom, the railings made it easy for her to get around. She found a hooded jacket she could wear to hide her face until she got some sunglasses. When she left his apartment, she hailed a taxi and went to a doctor all the Turks had used on occasion, who didn't ask questions as long as they didn't.

"Well, if it isn't the lovely Miss…" he started to say when he opened the door in response to her repeated knocking.

"Skip the pleasantries." Elena interrupted, hobbling in and shutting the door. "I need an exam."

She left a short while later, walking a little better in response to the shot he had given her. He had also given her some extremely potent painkillers, warning her to only take half a pill twice a day when absolutely necessary. He had also reassured her that the bleeding was not serious and would heal on its own. Elena's next stop was to buy the biggest pair of sunglasses she could find before going to her own apartment and rummaging through her limited cosmetics to make her face look presentable again. Once she felt concealed enough, she headed to the office.

* * *

Rude was pouring himself a cup of coffee, waiting for Reno to show up, when he heard a noise by the door. He saw Elena grabbing the door, and trying to make it to the closest table, using the chairs to support herself as she made her way over to the counter. She was wearing big sunglasses as well. When she got closer, he could see that the sunglasses really weren't hiding the black eyes very well.

"What happened to you?" Rude asked as he noticed more bruises that her skirt didn't quite hide. If someone did that to her…his free hand clenched into a fist on reflex.

"What I deserve." Elena replied as she downed half a painkiller with some water before pouring herself coffee. "Where's your other half?"

"Late as usual. Who did this to you?"

"Let it go, Rude."

"You know he misses you." Rude took a couple steps towards the door.

"Don't tell him!" Elena tried to stop him and lost her balance and fell, the sunglasses falling off her face as well. "That's what happened, I just fell, okay?"

"Who did it?" Rude persisted, as he noticed marks on her neck in the shape of a hand when he went to help her up, but she refused.

"Who did what?" Reno asked, standing in the doorway.

Elena put her head down and hurriedly put the sunglasses back on, before managing to pull herself into the closest chair. Reno had tried to just ignore her since he brought that woman to the lounge, and sometimes it shriveled her up a little, but today she was grateful.

"Who made you so late?" Rude asked him, with a sharp glance at Elena. If someone was hurting her, not only was that unacceptable behavior to Rude, but it also meant they were hurting Reno, and that was just as bad. He would have to start a little discreet investigating.

"Some dumb blonde. They're not good for much." Reno said pointedly.

Rude's arm shot out and knocked Reno down onto the table.

"Sorry, partner, it was a muscle spasm, I need to go have that checked out, let's go." Rude grabbed Reno and shoved him out the door. He had to hit somebody, but since he didn't know who hurt Elena, he just hit the first person who tried to hurt her.

Elena breathed a sigh of relief. If he had known it was Tseng, it would have been all-out war, and she couldn't protect Reno from that. The nightmares started again that night for her. She was back in the Crater, only this time the Remnants were all wearing Tseng's face, and it was Reno they were torturing.

* * *

Elena stood at the airport gate, waiting to board the plane. She had finally figured a way to stop Tseng. Ever since that night he brutalized her because she made it clear she would never want him, something had snapped in him. He now only seemed to be interested in having her live in torment. That first night was only the tip of the iceberg of the brutality he was capable of. But she now knew the one place where he couldn't hurt her anymore.

* * *

"The apartment was empty?" Rufus asked.

"Yes, sir." Tseng replied. "It appears she took nothing with her, and left a note on the door saying everything was free for the taking."

"Any idea where she went?"

"No, sir. She has effectively disappeared."

"Finding her is a priority." Rufus ordered.

"Yes, sir." Tseng left and headed to his own office, seething with anger that Elena would leave him. If she did it again for Reno, he would burn them both. And Reno's children! But he had to find her first so he could be sure she would suffer.

* * *

Reno was at the brothel again, drinking his beer and waiting for the girl to finish servicing him, when his phone rang. Cursing, he answered it.

"Dammit, this had better be good… _WHAT?!_ Are you serious? I'll be there in a few." He looked down at the head between his legs. "Hurry it up, will you?"

She complied, and his shock at Rude's phone call added something to the experience. He got out of there as soon as he could, meeting Rude at the helicopter.

"Did you really say it was a Priority 5 situation?" Reno asked him.

Rude nodded. "We're to take her into custody by any means necessary. As long as we bring her back, her condition doesn't matter."

Reno balked at the thought of using force against Elena. Despite the past year's events, he couldn't do that to her.

Rude watched Reno's expression carefully, then handed him a folder. 'Doc' hadn't been too eager to cooperate at first, but Rude had managed to convince him. Some of the services he had provided to Elena recently had required diagnostics, and he had still had them, plus his notes.

Reno flipped through the contents, his facial expressions going between shock and anger as it sunk in. " _Damage may likely be permanent if injuries continue. Scarring is starting to occur_."

"Whoever did this to her is out there, and they might find her first." Rude said.

"Like hell they will!" Reno snapped and jumped into the helicopter, getting in the pilot's seat. "Get in, it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

Reno tried to ignore the chill he felt and his hand trembled slightly as he took off as he considered the possibility that it might be too late…all the asinine things he had done to her over the past year came back to haunt him with a vengeance. He had failed her, despite all the promises he had made to himself about her. His mind kept going over that graphic medical file on Elena. He had known she wouldn't just leave him, but he just let her go and suffer worse than what the Remnants did to her. His own Priority 5 was to find her, bring her home safe, have her tell him who hurt her, find them, and strangle them with his bare hands. He had to find her first, he'd never forgive himself if he failed her a second time… _Where are you, Elena_?

* * *

 **Chapter 18 Dissolution(or Disillusion)**

Elena looked at the gravestone. She needed to see it one last time, to remind her why she was doing this. She was putting an envelope against it when she heard footsteps behind her and somehow wasn't surprised.

"How did you know where to find me?" Elena asked.

"It's my job." Reno replied. "What happened to you, Elena?"

Elena took a few steps towards the cliff ledge before turning to face him and answering. "My job."

"Elena, what are you doing?" Reno got nervous and started to approach her.

"Don't come any closer!" she warned.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving you." She kept walking backwards.

"It's my job to save you! Don't move!" Reno pleaded.

"You can't save me." Elena said as she felt the air at her back.

Reno made a desperate lunge to grab her as she teetered on the edge. They both went down as the earth gave way. Elena wanted to scream when she realized Reno was falling too, then suddenly they weren't falling anymore. She looked up and saw Reno holding onto her with one arm, and an exposed tree root with his other one.

"Please let me go!" Elena cried, hysterical. "Save yourself!"

"I'm not letting you go again!" Reno exclaimed. _Where the hell was Rude_?

He looked around for someplace safe nearby they could wait to be rescued, any kind of ledge, but there was nothing. That's when he noticed the lifestream starting to appear near them. He tried to pull Elena closer to him, but his arms were starting to give out, and it was all he could do to just hold on. It crept closer and closer, and when it had totally encircled them, he heard a voice.

"Don't let her go."

* * *

Rude wasn't that far behind Reno, and he saw the edge of the cliff collapse and take the two of them with it. Stunned, he put his hand on the gravestone to steady himself, and then a bright flash coming from the cliffside knocked him down, and that's when he noticed the envelope with Reno's name on it in Elena's handwriting. Not sure what else to do, he opened it and read the note inside, his grief being replaced by anger.

 _Dear Reno,_

 _I hope I am dead when you read this. Please don't blame yourself, nothing was ever your fault. I could never tell you while I was alive, I didn't want you to know how I had betrayed you. Kunnia's babies didn't die, Tseng posed as a doctor and took them at birth, letting everyone think they had died. They live in Gongaga village, and they're healthy and happy. Their adoptive parents take very good care of them. You were never to find out about their existence. That's why they ordered me to tell you that the babies died. I didn't know you and I would happen. It didn't make Tseng happy either, he threatened to tell you the truth unless I would whore myself to him. I chose the lesser of two evils, knowing it was still evil. Don't try and save me. My death will protect you, for Tseng will not hurt you if he can't hurt me anymore. That became his obsession, hurting me. He even threatened your children. Please forgive me, and if you can't, please forget me._

 _Elena_

The note was later found again in Junon, crumpled in the mouth of the body of a man with long black hair, around the same time two bodies washed up onshore at Mideel, below a cliff with a single gravestone on it.

* * *

 **Epilogue**

The triplets woke up on the morning of their 8th birthday and gathered in Ian's room to have a birthday 'séance' with both their mothers. When they felt their presence, their other mother had a surprise for them.

 _You can hear our daddy now?_ The triplets asked hopefully.

They felt her affirmation of that fact. And they also felt her sadness when she confirmed what they had already been told by their grandparents, he hadn't known about them. But he was glad to get to know them now. Then she told them they needed to get dressed and go downstairs for more surprises.

They got their fancy clothes on and went downstairs where they found their grandparents at the kitchen table with a strange man wearing sunglasses. Their grandparents seemed a bit sad, which confused them.

Alicia looked up as she heard their footsteps, and smiled at them. "Your first birthday present is here, children. This is Mr. Rude, he knew your parents and now he'd like to get to know you."


End file.
